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Question What is the biggest Eagle in the world (1 Viewer)

R

rokermartin

Well-known member
I always thought the biggest Eagle in the World was the Harpy Eagle but some people say it is the Steller's Sea Eagle or the Philippine Eagle .Can anybody tell me which is the Biggest Eagle in the world seems to be some confusion over this subject.
 
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Steller's sea eagle...third largest
Phillipine eagle and Harpy eagle both have 2m wingspan and 1m body length....you take your pick for the biggest....i would go for the Phillipine 'cos it can carry off larger prey.....source Wikipedia
 
I read that the Phillipine Eagle is the largest, but the Harpy is the strongest.
Both are spectacular birds, and it`s my dream to see them in the wild.
 
You have to pick the parameters. I am going to pick total body weight. In this case, the Big Three are ex equo the Steller's and the Harpy, both weighing up to 9 kg. for the adult female (but between these two the Harpy wins out on total body length - 105 cm. as opposed to 94 cm.), the third runner-up is the Philippine Eagle weighing in at up to 8 kg.

BTW, the largest Accipitridae in absolute is not an Eagle. Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) weighs in the adult female to 12.5 kg.
 
stellars sea eagle is the out and out bigest excluding condors if i remember rightly
but for out and out power its the harpy wich is slightly smaller than the sea eagle but its feet are an amasing size



Andy
 
I can remember watching a nature programme on TV and it showed you a Harpy Eagle flying in this forest and it grab a fully grown Sloth off a tree with out stopping amazing and it took it back to its nest.I think the Steller'sEagle has the biggest wing span of the three huge Eagles.Still seems to be differents answers given to the question about what is the biggest Eagle in the world.
 
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Is there a subspecies of Golden called the Berkut? "The book of Jove" had one sitting on the scale at 26 lbs. I have seen a harpy at our local zoo and have handled a Stellar, both are very large.
Yarak
 
I agree with Cuckooroller - it depends on your definition of "big". You can go for weight, body length, wingspan and none of these would be wrong.
 
Largest Eagle

I Agree With Swamptromper That The Australian Wedge Tailed Eagle
Is Right Up There On Overall Size ( 1 Metre Approx ) And Wing Span
( 2.5 Metres ),but I Think I Remember Reading Somewhere That It Ranks 4th In The World,presumably Because It Is Relatively Light At
4-5 Kg.
 
Interesting childhood question of mine. I was quite jealous when I was quite young to discover Wedgtails weren't the biggest. Without ruining my life (?), I've discovered through various articles and experience: Some stats regarding Steller's either put average weights at either 9 or 9.5kg (depending on location) for females and 7 - 8 kgs males with wingspan max 230 -260cm with females at a max of 103cm in length (a species with a liking for the cold). -Very robust eagles with large heads and huge yellow honkers and shortish wedged-shaped tails. I was fortunate to see a collection of them in the wild at Shiretoko and noticed marked size differences between individuals. Some males almost look small and compact compared to some female White-tailed Sea-eagles which have very short tails and I've read can average 7kgs (at Shiretoko) with 5kgs for males and a wingspan of upto 230cm (though quite broad). Two weeks after visiting Shiretoko I visited home in oz and had a close encounter with a pair of Wedgetails. The primaries of the female did appear to out extend the Stellers but their long tails (making up their max av length of 110cm) and lanky bodies, are a different sight with females averaging just 5kgs ( a species adapted to hot temperatures exceeding 40c) yet with wingspan at a max of 260cm being equal to max for Stellers. Captives: A Stellers at 12.7 kgs for an exchange breeding program vs a Harpy at 13kgs in a zoo. I've read different differing accounts of female Harpies averaging 8 or 9kgs in the wild but jungle based raptors have shorter broader wings (and aerial hunting harpies have huge hind talons). The tallest, Phillipine Eagles, at 7kgs (+? )have, according to BBC and other articles, the greatest surface area for the wings. I don't know which I'd buy if they were cars or cameras? They all look pretty cool. Couldn't say I'd be disappointed with any. -Though I only get a buzz seeing any in the wild. Aussie 'Little Eagles' at just over 1kg are super and the largest known, extinct, Haast's Eagle from NZ is sadly long gone but it would be great to photograph. But with the latter in mind, I have had close encounters with wedgetails (an aquila species) that made me a little suspicious and nervous. I hope anyone can enjoy encountering any species in the wild! All beautiful aerialists with proud demeanours. Cheers.
 
Harpys and Philippines are huge,
I've only seen a Harpy in a Zoo,but I have to say Steller's are bigger.
especially the females are HUGE..
I've flown one and it was very heavy and big. I think Harpys are just a few cm smaller than Steller's-one point you have to view-Steller's haven't got that long tail Harpys have...
ATB
Julia
 
iolar said:
OMG that Philippine is HUGE , looks alot bigger than the Harpy. Wow, id say one of them is capable of killing a small man
Click to expand...

Yes, but its important to note that males and females differs in size greatly...espacially in the harpy eagles. We have no info if those birds on the photos are males or females.....Look at the next photo....
 

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zoltannemeth said:
Yes, but its important to note that males and females differs in size greatly...espacially in the harpy eagles. We have no info if those birds on the photos are males or females.....Look at the next photo....
Click to expand...


Like all eagles females are larger than male eagles and males are about 10 – 20% smaller. I posted these pictures of the eagles besides a man just to have an idea how big they can get, looks like the Philippine eagle can swallow a whole human ear in one gulp by the size of their beak but never the less here are some data from Haribon foundation, though some of these specimen are more or less 50 years old which might have shrink from the original size.

Note: They dont have the steller's sea eagle specimen.

Total Average Length (from tip of bill to tip of longest tail feather):
1. Haring Ibon (average) = 1021 mm or 1.021 meter (Philippine eagle)
2. Harpy Eagle (average) = 900.75 mm or 0.90075 meter
Complete data; http://www.haribon.org.ph/?q=node/view/117

Size comparison:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=R6jPaP1Fono

ATB
Blubeak_2007
 
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