The stongest Talons? (1 Viewer)

The Red tailed can exert up to 200 lb square inch force which is greater than most grown men can produce. In comparison, the Philippine eagle can exert above 500lb psi. When biologist say these animals have powerful talons, these forces are what they are referring to.

The African Pig Eagle is considered to have the greatest lift of all the eagles. Still, I have seen photos here in Long Beach Ca. of a biologist carrying a huge down feathered Great Horned owl chick for tagging and could see its talons absolutely dwarf the mans hands.

Awesome stuff!!!

I have never seen a single report of a monkey eating eagle having that much power, from what ive read they have weak beaks and the feet and the prey items they take are usually small fragile animals called flying lemurs and once in the blue they make take a monkey

From all the reasearch i have done i have concluded that monkey eating eagles are very beautiful impressive birds but as far as power is concerned they dont even come close to other forest eagles like harpy or crowned

if anyone wants to proove me wrong in this please do but until i see any sort of proof regarding this eagles power I put it at the bottom of the list as far as power goes

Beauty wise it is at the top of the list, I think almost everyone only thinks the monkey eating eagle is very powerful because of its huge size and amazing looks they automatically think its an extremly powerful bird but when you actually research into this bird you wont be able to find any iimpressive feats like you will find with harpy or crowned eagles

the power of this bird is just one huge misconception based on how it looks

Philippine Eagle

scuba0095 said:

I have never seen a single report of a monkey eating eagle having that much power, from what ive read they have weak beaks and the feet and the prey items they take are usually small fragile animals called flying lemurs and once in the blue they make take a monkey

From all the reasearch i have done i have concluded that monkey eating eagles are very beautiful impressive birds but as far as power is concerned they dont even come close to other forest eagles like harpy or crowned

if anyone wants to proove me wrong in this please do but until i see any sort of proof regarding this eagles power I put it at the bottom of the list as far as power goes

Beauty wise it is at the top of the list, I think almost everyone only thinks the monkey eating eagle is very powerful because of its huge size and amazing looks they automatically think its an extremly powerful bird but when you actually research into this bird you wont be able to find any iimpressive feats like you will find with harpy or crowned eagles

the power of this bird is just one huge misconception based on how it looks

Click to expand...

Hi!

I just like to response to your comment.

Well I thinkl it’s really hard to prove it especially nowadays since this specie is critically endangered only a few hundreds left in the wild according to the latest data they are only about 180 individuals including those in captivity. We could only rely on the documented studies done earlier by those ornithologist and biologist especially Dr. Robert Kennedy the authority when it comes to Philippine eagle who researched and conducted an extensive studies about the the eagle in all 4 major Islands and some island reported sightings of Philippine eagles in the late 70's to 80's and late 90's.

You are correct in one thing though it's favorite prey is the flying lemurs or colugos (Cynocephalus volans) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colugos an arborreal mammal about 35-40 cm in length and can weighs up to 4 lb. But you are talking about the Philippine eagles in Mindanao Island which where the colugos can only be found or the flying lemurs.

The eagles in Luzon - the largest Philippine Islands ( 15th largest in the world I think?) in Sierra Madre Mountain range It’s a different story.
The Philippine eagles there would definitely have a different diet regime. Monkeys (long-tailed macaques) deer, palm civets, large snakes, monitor lizards, giant cloud rats and birds are the menu of choice by the eagles

Philippine eagle taking a monkey (http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1193326#post1193326)

I don’t know where you got your info? But Weak beak? I mean eagles are eagles you cannot discount the Facts how POWERFUL they are… Having an average of 73 x 50 x 70 mm size of compressed bill which shaped like a large sharp dagger and which is very unique among raptors…
I don’t think so? Looks like it could snap a deer’s femur in one single bite. Harpy's legs are thicker and has a longer hind talons probably the largest among eagles but they are short as compared to Philippine eagle's legs averaging 145-150 mm long vs. harpy’s 121-125 mm long the longest among eagles and claws that could almost encircles a human neck. Their Legs they may not be as thick as the Harpy eagle’s legs But they don’t look small to me either. Take a closer look at those feet!

Link for a complete documented studies of Philippine eagle
http://birdbase.hokkaido-ies.go.jp/rdb/rdb_en/pithjeff.pdf

On hunting and feeding ecology as recorded taking a 30 lb deer, a female monkey carries-off in one leg, taking on a large python also reputed by locals to sometimes take on domestic animals such as small pig, dogs and goats.


ATB
blubeak

The most powerful Forest Eagles

Conclusion based on the documented researched and data available:

The Philippine Monkey-eating eagles are opportunistic hunters/feeder, they take a variety of animals ranging in size from a small bat to a 14 kg or 30 lb deer, taking on what is most available and vulnerable, however food habits varies from Island to Island because of the different faunal composition and depending on seasons and availability of prey in the Islands/regions which the eagles inhabit.

COMPARISON OF PREY ITEMS of Philippine eagles and Harpy eagles:

These are the prey items found on different nests in Mindanao:

At various nests studied in Mindanao, 1977–1979,
flying lemurs were the principal food (54% of prey items), also palm civets Paradoxurus
hermaphroditus (12%), flying squirrels Petinomys (8%), fruit bats (genus Rousettus originally
given, but this doubted: N. R. Ingle in litt. 1997) (5%), monkeys (3%), plus a rat, a 30-pound
Philippine deer Cervus, a small bat (10–15g), an unidentified fledgling owl, two unidentified
hawks, Rufous Hornbills Buceros hydrocorax (6%), and several species of reptile (8%) including
snakes and a monitor lizard (Kennedy 1981b,c, 1983, 1985). However, at a nest in Aurora
province, October 1997, prey items seen comprised flying foxes Pteropus, macaques (Macaca Philippinensis)
and snakes (P. L. Alviola verbally 1997).

Source: http://birdbase.hokkaido-ies.go.jp/rdb/rdb_en/pithjeff.pdf

And these are the Harpy Eagle’s documented prey items found at the nests:

Studies revealed that Harpies hunt atleast 19 species of mammals, 16 of which are tree dwelling. Sloths make up slightly more than a third of the diet and primates slightly less than a third. The eagles prey on animals as large as 11-lb red howler monkeys and even 17 lb two-toed sloths, creatures too heavy for the Harpy eagle to be carried whole. We recently found that Harpy eagles also feed on birds such as macaws, smaller parrots and gray-winged trumpeters, though these make up only about 5 % of the prey taken. Knowing what harpies eat could help determine the size and type of habitat preserve needed to safeguard the eagle population.

Source: National Geographic Magazine/February 1995 issue
Author: By NEIL RETTIG and KIM HAYES


FACTS

Predators tend to go for easy prey, so that they don’t use up too much energy in obtaining food and to avoid injuries.

Flying lemurs (Cynocephalus volans) are even harder to spot and catch than sloth, it could jump and glide from tree to tree and it’s capable to fly (glide) as far as 70 meters. So as the monkeys they are more agile and alert than sloth and heavier than the small monkeys (particularly those of the genus Chlorocebus), which the African crowned eagles hunts and carries in flight.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9ENY2ujNUE The Philippine long-tailed macaques (mcaca philippinensis) weigh 4-6 kg and large males can weigh up to 9 kg.
Largest prey item found at one of the nest - a 30 lb deer cervus.

Based on the documented prey items above, It shows that the Philippine monkey-eating eagle is truly a powerful eagle perhaps even more powerful than the Harpy eagle coz’ it can carry heavier load of prey than those two forests eagles. It has the largest wing surface area among all the living eagles capable of more powerful lift. Dub as “ One of the largest and most powerful birds on earth.” And this only proves that the way it looks is not a misconception.

ATB
Blubeak

One of the largest powerful bill and longest eagle's legs and claws.

Truly a remarkable specie

Blubeak_2007 said:

FACTS

Predators tend to go for easy prey, so that they don’t use up too much energy in obtaining food and to avoid injuries.

Flying lemurs (Cynocephalus volans) are even harder to spot and catch than sloth, it could jump and glide from tree to tree and it’s capable to fly (glide) as far as 70 meters. So as the monkeys they are more agile and alert than sloth and heavier than the small monkeys (particularly those of the genus Chlorocebus), which the African crowned eagles hunts and carries in flight.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9ENY2ujNUE The Philippine long-tailed macaques (mcaca philippinensis) weigh 4-6 kg and large males can weigh up to 9 kg.
Largest prey item found at one of the nest - a 30 lb deer cervus.

Click to expand...

Sloths are easy picking compared to flying lemurs or monkeys based on the data above the success rate in hunting monkey is higher, IF the eagles hunt in tandem the one will act as a decoy to distract the monkey's attention and the other eagle will capture it from behind. It seems that Philippine eagle was not only on top of the list in Beauty; I think it's also an extremely powerful eagle... :smoke:

BEAUTY and POWER what a great combination and I think this was also the reason why it was called "The Great Philippine Eagle" Because of it's rarity and hard to find specie due to its small population endemic to the Philippines.

Even the British naturalist explorer John Whitehead who discovered the specie had missed it in his first ornithological exploration in the Philippine islands. :-C

(OBC-Philippine eagle a hundred years of solitude)

"Disease and "slow starvation" afflicted him throughout the years he worked in the Philippines, and he often fell victim to gross misfortune; yet his most celebrated moment resulted from one of the cruellest pieces of luck he endured. In 1895 an entire consignment of skins, the result of several months' concentrated collecting on Samar and containing many anticipated new species, was lost when its carrier, the German ship Weiland, caught fire and had to be scuttled off Singapore (Ibis 1896: 485). Whitehead was therefore forced to go back to the island in May 1896 and try again. His luck immediately changed: within days of arriving at Bonga in the uplands of the interior he saw a new, gigantic eagle, missed during the entire time of his previous visit. After weeks without the chance of obtaining a specimen, on 13 June his servant Juan brought in the male of a pair that had been seen daily in the forest opposite his camp. Even in death the bird had put up a fight, hanging by its talons at the top of a tree until Juan climbed the full height to fetch it down. This discovery was declared by W. R. Ogilvie Grant, who described the species for science, as "the most remarkable of Mr Whitehead's achievements in the Philippine Islands"

Truly a remarkable specie

The remarkability of the bird lay as much in its great taxonomic distinctiveness as in its size and success in avoiding discovery for so many years, and Ogilvie Grant's new genus, Pithecophaga, "monkey-eater", reflected the rather unusual food-habits Whitehead reported. He may well have assumed that this habit was directly related to the evolution of the bird's most notable character, namely "the extraordinary shape and size of the bill", the depth of which "is greater than that of any known bird of prey, except Pallas's [= Steller's] Sea-Eagle (Haliaëtus pelagicus), in which it is sometimes a trifle greater, while such extreme narrowness, compared with the depth, is quite unique in birds of this order". Although he thought the species most closely allied to the Harpy Eagle Harpia harpyja or to the genus Harpyhaliaetus, noting the similarity of structure and size of the legs, feet and talons of these birds, he found that in Pithecophaga "the skull is enormous, very much larger than that of the Harpy." :eat:

link: http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/bullfeats/phleagle.html

It's one of the most beautiful raptors and largest, most powerful eagles in the World.:t:

regards


larger bill and skull

The Strongest Talons

CONCLUSION:The Strongest Talons

The Philippine and Harpy Eagles are considered to be the Largest and Most Powerful Eagles in the world. According to the many site and based on documented studies judging by their sheer enormous size using their massive legs and claws with long sharp talons these Giants can kill and carry off prey as large as deer and monkeys.

Quote:
“Eagles are among the world’s largest birds of prey. The largest, including the Harpy Eagle and the Philippine Eagle, can weigh more than 20 pounds and have wings that spread eight feet across. Using their massive, sharp talons, these giants can kill and carry off prey as large as deer and monkeys.”

link: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/eagles/introduction/3089/

Quote:
“The Harpy eagle is a big bird of prey (length of 86 cm) with a double crest. With the Philippine Monkey-eating eagle it is thought to be the strongest eagles of the world, both with enormous claws, suited to pull apes (monkeys) out of a tree.”

link: http://webserv.nhl.nl/~ribot/english/haha_ng.htm

u forgot the crowned is on their same slevel

scuba0095 said:

u forgot the crowned is on their same slevel

Click to expand...

African crowned eagle is truly an impressive eagle of its size and it's also a forest eagle like the two they have adapted almost the same way in hunting, feeding and breeding ecology; But these two eagles the Harpy and Philippine eagles are larger and can lift far heavier prey than the crowned eagle.

A female crowned eagle which can weigh up to 4 kg can lift no more than 3 kg of weight. yes it can take larger prey which are available in it's homerange but it can only carry a third of its own body weight. It's the most powerful eagle in Africa according to some sites.

Philippine and Harpy eagles are considered the LARGEST and Most Powerful eagles in the world.

regards

Actually I changed my mind

I just saw a national geographic show hopefully some of you have seen this also

It is a monitor lizard attacking and killing a HEALTHY Full grown monitor lizard thats over six feet long and larger then the eagle is!


I am sorry but this takes the cake

I did more research on martial eagles and they seem to reg take large monitor lizards


You would never find an account of a monkey eating eagle killing and eating a komodo dragon would you?

I am sorry but killing sweet gentle sloths and cute small monkey is not what i consider impressive!

If any of you have held a baby monitor u will know what im talking about

I held a foot long monitor baby and the power of this lizard is jaw dropping! Its skin is so tough and tallons so powerful!

I was not bit but i saw what a bite from one of these beats can do!

Just to think of any animal killing a monitor lizard thats over six feet and the size of a dog is traffic stopping!

Hat goes down for the martial eagle which should be called king of birds

SOrry but i read the account of a monkey eating eagle fighting a retic python and there is no information in regards to the size of the snake all we know is the eagle was tired out after the fight

DId any of you see the NG video of martial eagle attacking and subduing a giant monitor? Good lord the footage will make u fall to your knees! I can tell you the lizard put up one HELL OF A FIGHT!!

Quote:
"You would never find an account of a monkey eating eagle killing and eating a komodo dragon would you?"

Of course you can NEVER find such thing or account of any... not in the wild! coz' these two species will never cross path in the wild! Komodo dragons are confined in small islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang in Indonesia while the Philippine eagle is endemic to the Philippines.

The documented Philippine eagle taking on a large python is just one of the eagles encounter which was documented, chances that there maybe more; pythons are one of the most common snakes in the Philippines from time to time a snake is caugth in urban areas even in cities and pythons are probably the most dangerous prey to tackle for an eagle unless it's on a tree coz there's no way an eagle could win in combat with a large python on the ground. as it was written from the text:
"The eagle was captured ALIVE by locals after falling exhausted in combat with a large python."
Eagles doesn't have long stamina to sustain a long gruelling combat especially to a large prey like large python that is why they conserve their energy they usually perched on a high trees looking for a potential prey and attacks in short burst by snatching unsuspecting prey from trees.

As of the size of the python well I have no Idea how "Large" is large to a "large python" maybe a range of 10-20 feet? the largest or longest record of a Reticulated Python was 10 meters They are the LONGEST snakes in the world and one of the most agressive too.

SORRY also but probably you can never find any documented account of another eagle specie attacking a large snakes such as a reticulated python. BTW monitor lizards are also part of the Philippine eagle's diet.

Philippine eagles documented prey items:
Monkeys, flying lemurs, palm civet, Giant cloud rats, Monitor lizards, large snakes, large birds, deer, small dogs and small pigs.

Philippine and Harpy Eagles are considered the Largest and most Powerful eagles in the world.

regards,
Blubeak

no eagle in this world may kill an komodo dragon, let-s be serious
we talking about a 3 meter lizzard more than 100 kilo heavy..

And reconsider crowned eagle.
despite being smaller than harpy it has the same strenght in talons and it's the eagle species who currently hunt the largest pray.

How on Earth did we get on to Komodo Dragons vs Eagles?

We were comparing Eagles.

I seem to recall some TV program where a falconer had a tame Harpy Eagle and had perched it on a presenter's forearm. The presenter asked how hard it could squeeze if it really wanted to and was told its talons would go right through the arm guard and into the arm and pretty much meet in the middle. The presenter went rather pale.

The things actually kill monkeys by driving their talons into its head through the skull!

I assume the Phillipine Eagle can do much the same.

Who cares if either of them is more powerful than a Komodo Dragon, or a Crocodile or something; we were comparing them with each other.

And reconsider crowned eagle.
despite being smaller than harpy it has the same strenght in talons and it's the eagle species who currently hunt the largest pray.[/QUOTE]

In my opinion having seen harpy eagles in the wild and captivity and also having handled a couple of captive female crowned eagles,there is NO competition whatsoever,granted crowned eagles are very powerful but not in the same league as harpies or phillipine eagles.Just look at the thickness of the tarsus on them,female crowned's tarsi is about half that of a harpies.

I once had to prize a trained female crowned of a dog in Africa,which fortunately survived the experience without any serious injuries thankfully!
If that had been a harpy of either sex i think the outcome would have been very different and to be honest i don't think i would have managed to get its feet off given there strength.

I kinda changed my mind I dont think the crowned eagles tallons are as strong as a monkey eating eagles which is DOUBLE the weight and double the size and has MUCH LARGER tallons and a much higher lifting ability then the tiny crowned eagle....

I think a crowned eagle and a martial eagle on the same level its just crowned eagles take larger prey more often

So what the martial eagle takes full grown nile monitors which is more powerful and impressive then ANYTHING a crowned eagle has taken EVER! I do admit that if the monkey eating eagle did take a large 10 foot plus python on then yes it is even more impressive then a harpy!

Unlike the huge beastily monitor lizard that was subdued by a martial eagle we dont have any proof this really happend nor do we have any proof of the outcome of the fight. We have the monitor lizard being over powered on national geographic video tape by a eagle that is smaller then the lizard~!!

ALso forgive me if i am wrong but hasn't a martial eagle killed an adult male baboon?

There is not a single record in history of a crowned eagle ever killing an adult male baboon, EVery baboon killed by a crowned has been a youngster or a female. NOT EVEN ONE fluke case of a crowned eagle predating on a male baboon!

They prey on 15 pound monkey very often yes which is not that impressive for a bird that is suppose to have the ability to kill a man! YA right lol JMHO

The more I dig into the recroded history of these eagles the more i change my mind..

WE MUST seperate the truth from the MYTHs to really get a true answer and many people do not seem to be able to do that..

These rainforest eagles The Harpy, Philippine and African Crowned eagle are capable of killing a large prey; it’s just a question of how hungry or desperate they are to hunt especially if they are rearing young. Most of these raptors are opportunistic hunter or feeders they will take what ever is available and vulnerable. We should also consider the available prey in their home range.

Just because the African Crowned Eagle can take larger prey, It doesn’t mean that the Harpy and Philippine cannot do the same? It’s just so happen that these large prey are available to its home range. Like the Philippine eagle there is no large prey available in the Philippine forests perhaps monkeys, deer and python are the largest you can find and deer are very rare, so as the wild boar unlike the crowned eagle’s home range there are so many large mammals. Philippine eagles do take snakes regularly as prey but about the LARGE pythons… I think the eagle would think twice to attack unless it has a rare opportunity like on a high tree which the eagle has some advantage over the python. (It was documented, so I think it did happened)
link:http://birdbase.hokkaido-ies.go.jp/rdb/rdb_en/pithjeff.pdf

I think that large male monkeys (macaques), which can weigh up to 20 lb these cute looking primates are even more dangerous prey than to a cobra or a monitor lizard for the eagle. They have strong grip in both hands and feet plus a large fangs about 1-2 inches based on observation of some biologist. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/210.shtml

"Studies revealed that individual male monkeys defend the troops they lead against attack, deliberately exposing themselves to view while the others escape, and that they appear to be too powerful for single combat, Gonzales (1968) concluded that eagles would be more successful at taking monkeys when hunting in tandem. Various locals who told Kennedy (1977) that the birds course through the forest in pairs looking for monkey, one eagle distracting a monkey while the other captures it from behind. It also tends to be borne out by the fact that Wharton (1948) exported a live eagle captured by locals after it broke its leg in a fall during a struggle with a large monkey."

"The generic name of the Philippine Monkey-eating Eagle, Pithecophaga, which led to its
original English name “monkey-eating”, was the result of the natives of Samar reporting that it “preys chiefly on the Green Monkeys”, and indeed the man who bestowed this name, Ogilvie Grant (1897), considered that “the worn tail and broken ends of the quills of both wings and tail no doubt bear witness to many a savage struggle amongst the branches.”

Source:Threatened Birds of Asia


Philippine eagle taking and lifting a large macaque...

spizaetus said:

And reconsider crowned eagle.
despite being smaller than harpy it has the same strenght in talons and it's the eagle species who currently hunt the largest pray.

Click to expand...

In my opinion having seen harpy eagles in the wild and captivity and also having handled a couple of captive female crowned eagles,there is NO competition whatsoever,granted crowned eagles are very powerful but not in the same league as harpies or phillipine eagles.Just look at the thickness of the tarsus on them,female crowned's tarsi is about half that of a harpies.

I once had to prize a trained female crowned of a dog in Africa,which fortunately survived the experience without any serious injuries thankfully!
If that had been a harpy of either sex i think the outcome would have been very different and to be honest i don't think i would have managed to get its feet off given there strength.[/QUOTE]

Under no circumstances I'm gonna try to convince you about crowned eagle superiority.
But just check out the feet of this juvenile crowned eagle.
Mind that her talons will grow more than that, in fact she is a juvenile bird.
The same size if any harpy talons, and visible larger than philippine eagle's talons.
Regards

scuba0095 said:

I kinda changed my mind I dont think the crowned eagles tallons are as strong as a monkey eating eagles which is DOUBLE the weight and double the size and has MUCH LARGER tallons and a much higher lifting ability then the tiny crowned eagle....

I think a crowned eagle and a martial eagle on the same level its just crowned eagles take larger prey more often

So what the martial eagle takes full grown nile monitors which is more powerful and impressive then ANYTHING a crowned eagle has taken EVER! I do admit that if the monkey eating eagle did take a large 10 foot plus python on then yes it is even more impressive then a harpy!

Unlike the huge beastily monitor lizard that was subdued by a martial eagle we dont have any proof this really happend nor do we have any proof of the outcome of the fight. We have the monitor lizard being over powered on national geographic video tape by a eagle that is smaller then the lizard~!!

ALso forgive me if i am wrong but hasn't a martial eagle killed an adult male baboon?

There is not a single record in history of a crowned eagle ever killing an adult male baboon, EVery baboon killed by a crowned has been a youngster or a female. NOT EVEN ONE fluke case of a crowned eagle predating on a male baboon!

They prey on 15 pound monkey very often yes which is not that impressive for a bird that is suppose to have the ability to kill a man! YA right lol JMHO

The more I dig into the recroded history of these eagles the more i change my mind..

WE MUST seperate the truth from the MYTHs to really get a true answer and many people do not seem to be able to do that..

Click to expand...

You kid...crowned eagle attack much more monitor lizards and even male baboons than any martial eagle. They are designed to kill big and dangerous prey.
Just check this birds more in detail.
Martial eagle are slightly stronger than golden eagles, but no match for crowned eagles.

NO proof of crowned eagle taking an adult male baboon EVER

Also that pic with the tallons its still not as big as a monkey eating or harpy eagles tallons

I know crowned eagles do indeed prey on monitor lizards but I have yet to see one take on a full grown one..

Monitor lizards have thick thick skin very hard to penitrate, also they are equiped with a powerful deadly tail that can break a mans leg..

On top of that they ahve extremly deadly powerful claws PLUS a powerful powerful BITE!

NO MONKEy other then a male baboon comes close to this kind of power. LIke i said handle a monitor lizard less then a foot long and you would understand what i am talking about! You will understand the meaning of power! People that have no experience in these lizards wont understand why I was so shocked to see a eagle subdue one that is bigger then the eagle itself. It really made me fall through the floor after watching it!!!

I can see an eagle taking on a large monkey because its not hard to penitrate a monkeys skin/skull when the bird has tallons the size of a grizzley!

I have a study conducted on crowned eagles and i can show any of you if you like? The crowned eagle has many many predators and many adults are killed and eaten before they die of old age by predators!

I am presuming this thread was to try and answer which raptor had the strongest feet rather than strongest talons,which are the nails of the bird.
crowned eagles have a massive hind talon as do martial eagles which are both powerful birds but for sheer strength the crowned wins hands down.Large talons do not equal power!

Size of prey taken does not necessarily mean more strength,birds are opportunistic and if hungry may take on prey bigger than what they would normally hunt.Young birds in particular can take on prey much too large until they learn or die from the experience.

The two most powerful raptors in my personal opinion are the phillipine and the harpy eagle, i have never seen a phillipine...yet,hopefully one day,and no idea which of the two is the most powerful, and to be honest i don't think we will ever know.

spizaetus said:

I am presuming this thread was to try and answer which raptor had the strongest feet rather than strongest talons,which are the nails of the bird.
crowned eagles have a massive hind talon as do martial eagles which are both powerful birds but for sheer strength the crowned wins hands down.Large talons do not equal power!

Size of prey taken does not necessarily mean more strength,birds are opportunistic and if hungry may take on prey bigger than what they would normally hunt.Young birds in particular can take on prey much too large until they learn or die from the experience.

The two most powerful raptors in my personal opinion are the phillipine and the harpy eagle, i have never seen a phillipine...yet,hopefully one day,and no idea which of the two is the most powerful, and to be honest i don't think we will ever know.

Click to expand...

I agree with you, like I have also said these raptors are opportunistic hunters they will take what is most available and vulnerable when they are hungry regardless of the size than they usually take; young inexperience bird has no fear to attack any potential meal, like you’ve mention either they will discover a source of food or die from the experience.

Predators tend to go for easy prey to conserve energy in obtaining food and to avoid injuries especially when they have young to feed; they are not dumb to just attack anything moving otherwise they wouldn’t survive long or exist today. Crowned eagles are truly impressive we don't need to exaggerate things.
As for the quest of which eagle is the most powerful I also go for the two the Harpy and Philippine eagles like the link mentioned above by their sheer size and strength capable of lifting heavier load of prey these two are considered the most powerful eagles on earth.

Monitor lizards are also found all over the Philippines and are part of Philippine eagle's diet so as Large snakes we are not that amazed and we knew about them far better than you could imagine, we have them even as pet here and a favorite treat for their tastes like chicken meat. They are locally known as "Bayawak".

regards