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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing the Philippine eagle. These are some of the largest living eagles and they’re also on the brink of extinction. The Philippine eagle was first described by science at the turn of the twentieth century. Even then they were described as low in number. It’s believed there are fewer than a thousand adult Philippine eagles alive today. These huge birds have no natural predators. They sit at the top of the food chain. Unfortunately, their numbers are still in decline due to human related causes. Habitat destruction and poaching have dwindled their numbers significantly over the past few decades. Philippine eagles are listed as critically endangered, and though measures have taken place to help their plight, such as making them the national bird of the Philippines, they still face a grim future without further intervention.

As their common name may suggest, Philippine eagles are found in the Philippines. They are endemic to this region, living on only a handful of islands. Their scientific name gives suggestion to another name by which these birds are known. The Philippine eagle is also known as the monkey eating eagle. When they were first taxonomically named, it was believed they only ate monkeys. Today, it’s known they have a more diverse diet. A Philippine eagle’s diet largely depends on where it lives. Different islands offer different prey. Some eat monkeys, others eat rats. They also take flying foxes, snakes, monitor lizards, and more! Often, Philippine eagles hunt from the top of a hill and work their way downward between perches. This helps conserve energy!

These raptors live in tropical rainforests. These areas are dense and difficult to traverse. That, coupled with the eagle’s small population size and elusive nature, makes it difficult to study them. What is currently known is that they remain with the same partner until one of the pair dies - at which point they find a new partner. They have been observed hunting together. For example, one bird distracts a group of monkeys while the other swoops in for a kill. Their breeding season is long but typically timed towards the end of the year so their eggs and young aren’t hit during monsoons. Nests are built high in trees and reused. Both parents incubate the eggs and the chick takes two months to hatch. It takes half a year for the chick to leave the nest and over a year for it to reach independence, so eggs are only laid every two years. It takes three to seven years for the chick to reach maturity. Philippine eagles may live to be 30 or older in the wild.

These birds match harpy eagles in size. Though they share the crest of head feathers, these eagles aren’t closely related. The Philippine eagle stands about three feet (91cm) tall and weighs nearly nine pounds (4kg). Their wingspan is longer than I am tall reaching six and a half feet (2m) in length. Their bills can reach more than ten inches (26cm) long, and the ladies are larger than the males. A female Philippine eagle may be 33% larger than her partner! Though they generally look similar outside of size differences.

For more facts on the Philippine eagle, check out the links below. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today. Thank you to our Patrons SpikeSpiegel93, Dad, and everyone else for their support of this channel! Thank you to these viewers for today’s request! And thank you for watching Animal Fact Files!