Better known as “Nightmare Fuel”: The Harpy Eagle of Central and South America has a wingspan of up to 6.5 feet. The top predators in their food chain, their diet includes opossums, sloths, and monkeys.--audobon.org
You read it first in The Factory in Guide magazine.
Do you like eagles? They are very majestic birds indeed! Maybe that is why several countries like to use their likeness on official emblems.
For instance, for the United States, the American Bald Eagle is considered the national bird and a symbol of power, strength and freedom. The Harpy Eagle is not only the National Bird of Panama, it is also the emblem of the Colombian Air Force, the Ecuadorian symbol of biodiversity, and could be found on the Venezuelan 10 bolivares bills.
There are a variety of eagles. One of the biggest known is the Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja), and is considered one of the most powerful and largest raptors globally. These birds are colored with grey heads, black backs and white bellies. Their talons are yellow, beaks are dark grey, and their eyes can be grey, brown or red.
The Harpy can stand up to 3.5 feet tall. In addition to its large body and broad wingspan (up to 7.5 feet), it has massive talons, and legs that can be as thick as a human’s wrist!
The length of the rear talons is about 4 to 5 inches, just the same as a grizzly bear's claws. The males can weigh anywhere from 9 - 11 pounds, and the females, who tend to be larger, can be upwards of 13 - 25 pounds or more. Adult female harpies regularly grab large male howler or spider monkeys or mature sloths weighing 6 to 9 kg (13 to 20 pounds) in flight and fly off without landing - an enormous feat of strength.
Their food consists mostly of tree dwelling mammals like opossums, sloths, and monkeys, but can also include other large birds like macaws and parrots; and even reptiles like iguanas, tegus and snakes. In very rare cases, they will take domestic livestock like chickens, lambs, goats and young pigs.
This eagle is a silent predator that glides across the forest like a stealth drone;...still it won’t fly long distances. It prefers to conserve energy and strength…instead, it sits and patiently waits until the prey comes to them.
The Harpy Eagle’s facial disk feathers can be lowered or lifted at will like an owl. This process helps them direct sound waves to their ears to improve hearing. Its eyesight is 8 times better than humans, and when locked on a potential meal, they fly below the forest canopy and swoop in to catch their prey.
God’s creatures are fearfully and wonderfully made! Perhaps that is why God liken’s those who hope in the Lord to eagle’s strength: Isaiah 40:31 reads, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
Gain your strength from the Lord as you continue to exercise your faith!
—Carol Lyons
Discovery Mountain Team Member
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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