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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BrownnishSkua" data-source="post: 1626076" data-attributes="member: 79711">Well, according to my source? I don't have one with words but I do have a pciture comparison here:If you put a golden eagle and bald eagle (especially on seperate pictures etc) side by side, its sometimes hard to tell the difference if but in that picture above where you put their talons close together, you can see the bald eagle is the one with longer talons.Ok i must have forgoten my methamatics on that i thought that 1cm makes a 100mm and the PE is not that much deeper according to the information posted (though I acknowledged I stuff on on my measurements here.'Vultures of Africa' by Peter Mundy and others say the lappet-faced vulture's beak is still the largest).Anyway, regarding the gape of the lappet-faced vulture (which i think is larger and has a stronger beak than the philippine's eagle and still looks more compressed), I can't find any measurements even on that book but it is said that the lappet-faced vulture and the white-headed vulture have the largest gapes of any vulture. Bearded vulture have very large gapes too to allow them to swallow bones up to 10 inches long.According to 'Vulture of Africa' by Peter Mundy, the lappet-faced vultures and white-headed vultures have broad heads and large or broad (can't remember the exact sentence) beaks, griffons and white-backed vultures have broad beaks and narrow heads, and hooded an egyptian vultures have broad heads and narrow beaks.Well, in that case it doesn't mean the steller's sea eagle necessarily have a beak which is weaker than the PE because there are no raptiles in its area. In that case the steller's sea eagle can still tear through raptile skin as easily as the phillippine's monkey eagle too.Well, as said I hope for a good bite force test of birds of prey to come but until then the lappet-faced vultures beak is the stronger (more compressed though both looks the same) than the philippine's monkey eagle and other eagles until there is a test to proof otherwise though by nature scavengers have stronger jaws compared to predators (usually).The eurasian black vulture's beak while powerful is said to be unable to do the 'smashing' the lappet-faced vulture's beak can but I still believe it just like the lappet-faced vulture does exceed the beak power of any eagle. It too is a ripper - scavengers specility (longer but less massive than LPVs).Well, I am doing my part and about to return to this quest again soon once I start getting paid, I am acctually about to support a few charities to do so and have done so before. Forest eagles seem to have the strongest talons pound to pound followed by booted eagles then finally fish eagles. vultures like booted and fish eagles are capable of soaring great heights.Most vultures can only tear rotting skin of antelopes and larger animals but as said there are vultures in leaugues of their own and makes them unique.While griffons are incapable of tearing fresh hide of antelopes unlike lappet-faced vultures and eurasian black vultures, they are still capable of tearing open the skin of primates at least.And btw eagles seem to feed on the soft part of their prey too and while capable of using their beaks in combat etc, most of the killing is done with their talons:<a href="http://www.birdinfo.co.za/landbirds/53_african_crowned_eagle.htm" target="_blank">http://www.birdinfo.co.za/landbirds/53_african_crowned_eagle.htm</a></blockquote>

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