Stats

Lifespan: 25-35 yrs
Size: Huge
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Pair
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: Central and South America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Speed
Status: Vulnerable

About

The Harpy Eagle is the largest and most powerful raptor in the Americas, soaring through lowland tropical rainforests from southern Mexico to Bolivia. Its rear talons can grow up to 13 cm — as long as a grizzly bear's claws — strong enough to crush the spine of a sloth or howler monkey mid-flight.

Life cycle

1.
egg
One or two eggs are incubated on a high stick nest or cliff ledge, guarded closely by the pair.
2.
hatchling
A downy hatchling is fed torn meat by its parents and grows quickly in a high nest.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to soar and to make its first kills.
4.
adult
Fully grown, hunting on its own with adult plumage.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Harpia
Species: Harpia harpyja