BirdNote; The Harpy Eagle Is a Huge, Powerful Hunter
- Transcript
This is BirdNote.
(Harpy Eagle, male song, https://www.xeno-canto.org/20069, 0.05-.11]
If there is a single bird that captures the imagination of birders it may be the Harpy Eagle.
Harpy Eagles are huge, powerful hunters that spend their lives in tall, remote tropical forests in Central and South America. Named for the Harpies of Greek mythology, gruesome women with the bodies of birds, these eagles fly from tree to tree in search of food, rarely venturing into the open sky above.
(Harpy Eagle call, https://www.xeno-canto.org/384930, 0.00-.07)
Feathered in varying shades of gray with a white belly, the Harpy has a strong hooked beak, and distinctive tall feathers that stand out straight from its head.
Harpy Eagles are massive. Females, larger than males, are three and a half feet long and weigh up to 20 pounds. That’s heavier than the largest Bald Eagle. Their rear talons measure a full five inches, ideal for plucking sloths and monkeys from the trees.
Harpy Eagles may not be the Hounds of Zeus, but they are legendary in their own right. However, human persecution and ongoing cutting of forest are threatening these eagles, who raise just one nestling every two or three years.
So each one is precious — and spectacular.
(Harpy Eagle, male song, https://www.xeno-canto.org/20069, 0.05-.11]
For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.
- Series
- BirdNote
- Producing Organization
- BirdNote
- Contributing Organization
- BirdNote (Seattle, Washington)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip-2adc94eecaf
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- Description
- Episode Description
- Harpy Eagles spend their lives in tall, remote tropical forests in Central and South America, flying from tree to tree in search of food. The eagles are named for the Harpies of Greek mythology, women with the bodies of birds who, on Zeus’s command, snatched people from the earth. Since it takes many months for a nestling to mature, Harpy Eagles raise a youngster just once every two or three years.
- Created Date
- 2019-08-17
- Asset type
- Episode
- Topics
- Science
- Subjects
- Birds
- Rights
- Sounds were provided by the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Xeno-Canto, Martyn Stewart, Chris Peterson, John Kessler, and others. Where music was used, fair use was taken into consideration. Individual credits are found at the bottom of each transcript.
- Media type
- Sound
- Duration
- 00:01:45.195
- Credits
-
-
Copyright Holder:
BirdNote
Producing Organization: BirdNote
Writer: Sundstrom, Bob
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
BirdNote
Identifier: cpb-aacip-3998637f13f (Filename)
Format: Hard Drive
Generation: Master: preservation
Duration: 00:01:45
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
- Citations
- Chicago: “BirdNote; The Harpy Eagle Is a Huge, Powerful Hunter,” 2019-08-17, BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed June 13, 2026, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-2adc94eecaf.
- MLA: “BirdNote; The Harpy Eagle Is a Huge, Powerful Hunter.” 2019-08-17. BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. June 13, 2026. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-2adc94eecaf>.
- APA: BirdNote; The Harpy Eagle Is a Huge, Powerful Hunter. Boston, MA: BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-2adc94eecaf