Philippine Eagle

The Philippine eagle is one of the largest eagles in the world: it is the longest, and has the greatest wing area, while the harpy eagle and Steller's sea eagle are heavier and bulkier. A mane of long brown feathers forms a shaggy crest on the nape, the face is dark, and the crown and nape are creamy brown. The back is dark brown and the underparts and underwings are white. The very deep, high-arched bill is bluish grey, the eyes are blue-grey and the heavy legs are yellow with large dark claws. Young birds look like adults but have pale fringes to the upperpart feathers (Wikipedia, general species account).

It lives singly or in pairs and often soars above the forest looking for prey; the call is a loud, high-pitched whistle (Collins Bird Guide; Wikipedia). Prey is mostly civets and colugos, with other mammals, birds and reptiles. Early reports from Samar said it ate only monkeys, which gave it the name monkey-eating eagle until 1978, when a presidential proclamation renamed it the Philippine eagle. A study on Mindanao found breeding pairs about 13km apart on average, a territory of roughly 133 square kilometres. A pair lays a single egg (AnAge; Wikipedia).

The eagle is found on four islands. Mindanao holds the most, with an estimated 82–233 breeding pairs; only about six pairs live on Samar, two on Leyte and a few on Luzon. On this guide it is a target at Mount Apo, Mount Kitanglad, the Northern Sierra Madre and Samar, and the Philippine Eagle Center near Davao keeps captive birds, one of which lived 46 years. Habitat loss is the main threat, and shooting continues: more than 20 injured eagles have been rescued since 2019. Killing one is a crime that can bring up to 12 years in prison (Wikipedia, citing published sources).