Philippine Eagle

The Philippine Eagle is the national bird of the Philippines and one of the largest, most powerful eagles in the world, found only on a handful of Philippine islands. It is instantly recognizable for its shaggy crest of long, narrow brown-and-cream feathers on the nape, which it can raise into a lion-like mane.

The upperparts are dark brown, the underparts and crown creamy white to pale buff, and the massive, deep bill and legs are bluish-gray. Its piercing pale blue-gray eyes and huge bill give it a fierce, imposing expression fitting its status as an apex predator.

Once known as the "monkey-eating eagle," it was renamed after research showed its diet is far more varied than that name implied.

Key field marks

• Long, shaggy nape feathers forming an erectile, mane-like crest
• Massive, deep, bluish-gray bill
• Dark brown upperparts contrasting with a pale, creamy crown and underparts
• Blue-gray legs and feet with large talons
• Very broad, long wings and long tail adapted for soaring above forest canopy

Similar species

No other raptor within its range approaches its size or shaggy crest, making adults essentially unmistakable. Juveniles show the same basic pattern as adults but with slightly paler, more uniform plumage until they mature.

Range

The Philippine Eagle is endemic to the Philippines, found only on the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao, with the largest remaining population on Mindanao.

Habitat

It requires large tracts of primary dipterocarp forest, from lowlands up into montane forest, and each breeding pair needs an enormous territory of roughly 40 to 90 square kilometers to find sufficient prey.

Migration

The species is non-migratory and strictly resident, which makes it especially vulnerable where forest habitat has been cleared or fragmented across its limited island range.

Hunting and feeding

Despite its great size, the Philippine Eagle is an agile flier within the forest, hunting from a perch and diving onto prey such as flying lemurs (colugos), civets, monkeys, large snakes, monitor lizards, and birds.

Voice

It gives loud, high-pitched whistled calls, particularly during territorial and courtship displays, often heard before the bird itself is seen.

Nesting and breeding

Pairs are monogamous and mate for life, building a huge stick nest high in an emergent forest tree. A single egg is laid roughly every two years, and the chick remains dependent on its parents for about a year and a half to two years, giving the species one of the slowest reproductive rates of any eagle.