PHILIPPINE EAGLE

The 'Philippine Eagle' (''Pithecophaga jefferyi'') is one of the rarest, largest and most powerful birds in the world. This bird of prey, or raptor, belongs to the family Accipitridae. It is also known as 'Haribon' or 'Haring Ibon', meaning "Bird King."

Contents

Anatomy

Distribution

Ecology, behavior and life history

Etymology and taxonomic history

Importance to humans

In Philippine culture

Conservation

See also

Bibliography

References

External links

Anatomy

This eagle's head is adorned with long brown feathers that give it the appearance of a lion's mane. The upperside of the Philippine Eagle is brown, the underside white. This average female is about 1 meter (3.3 feet) long, weighs about 7 kg (15.5 lb), and has a wingspan of 2 meters (6.7 feet). This makes the Philippine Eagle one of the world's largest eagles with the largest wing surface area. The Harpy Eagle and Steller's Sea Eagle are about the same size as this species. The adult male is about 10-20% smaller and averages at about 5 kg (11 lbs). The life expectancy for the Philippine Eagle is around 30-60 years.

Distribution

The Philippine Eagle can be found in rainforests of four major Philippine islands - Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao.

Ecology, behavior and life history

Like most eagles the Philippine Eagle is monogamous. A couple remains together for a lifetime. The nest is normally built on an emergent dipterocarp, about 30 m above the ground. The female lays one egg. The parents will care for the egg and the young for twenty months, so they may breed only every other year.
Philippine Eagles food habits vary from island to island it inhabit, the food habits of Philippine Eagles in Luzon have a different preference with the eagles in Mindanao. Because of the difference in terms of the faunal composition of Luzon and Mindanao, them representing different faunal regions, the eagles there would definitely have a different diet regime. For example, flying lemurs, which are the preferred prey in Mindanao, are absent in Luzon.

Etymology and taxonomic history

The scientific name commemorates Jeffery Whitehead, father of the English explorer and naturalist John Whitehead, who collected the original specimen.
Upon discovery in 1896, it was first called the ''Monkey-eating Eagle'', based on reports from natives that it preyed exclusively on monkeys (hence its generic name, from the Greek ''pithecus'' ("ape or monkey") and ''phagus'' ("eater (of)") . Later studies revealed, however, that they also prey on other animals such as colugo, civets, large snakes, monitor lizards, and even large birds like hornbills. This, and the fact that the same name applied to the African Crowned Hawk-eagle and the South American Harpy Eagle resulted in a presidential proclamation to change its name to Philippine Eagle.

Importance to humans

In Philippine culture

The Philippine Eagle is now known as the National Bird of the Philippines and this has helped increase awareness of the bird and its plight.
The American bald eagle will be replaced by the Philippine eagle on the logo of Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines Inc. per official announcement on august 24, 2007 at the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) center in Malagos, Baguio District, Davao where the company adopted a 7-month-old eagle bred in captivity but which would in time be released to the wild. Boysen named the eagle ''Pin-Pin'' (''Pinturang Pinoy'') the 21st Philippine eagle bred in captivity at the PEF center. In 2004, Vice President Noli de Castro adopted a PEF-bred eagle named Kabayan which was released into the forests of Mt. Apo in North Cotabato, but was electrocuted at the reservation of the Philippine National Oil Corp.^[1]
To pay homage to the eagle, the Davao team of the Metropolitan Basketball Association was named as the "Davao Eagles."

Conservation

The 2007 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN) included it as Critically Endangered.^[2]
Charles Lindbergh, best known for crossing the Atlantic in 1927, was fascinated by this eagle. As a representative of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) he travelled to the Philippines several times between 1969 and 1972, where he helped persuade the government to protect the eagle.
Its numbers have slowly dwindled over the decades with only an estimated 500 pairs left. The Philippine Eagle may soon no longer be found in the wild, unless direct intervention is taken. The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) of Davao City is one such organization dedicated to the protection and conservation of the Philippine Eagle and its forest habitat. In fact, PEF has been successfully breeding Philippine Eagles in captivity for over a decade now and has also conducted the first experimental release of a captive-bred eagle to the wild. Ongoing research on behavior, ecology and population dynamics is also underway.
On august 11, 2007, a breeding pair of Philippine Eagle was discovered nesting in Zamboanga del Norte and were doing (mutual soaring) courtship flying displays above an old nest tree in Barangay Linay, Baliguian, where the egg is expected to be laid on September, 2007. The Linay nesting site is the lowest recorded for Philippine Eagles in Mindanao (369 meters above sea level); the DENR declared it as a Philippine Eagle "''critical habitat''" through RA 9147 or the Philippine Wildlife Act.^[3]Meanwhile, the Philippine Department of Tourism will construct this September a new lounge at the Philippine Eagle Center at Baguio district, Davao.^[4]

See also

Bibliography

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References

1. Inquirer.net, ‘Pin-Pin’ the eagle roosts on logo, awaits freedom
2. Birdlife.org, Philippine Eagle - BirdLife Species Factsheet
3. Sunstar, Philippine Eagle found nesting in Zamboanga Norte
4. Mindanao News, DOT puts up visitors' lounge at Eagle camp

External links

★ Philippine Eagle Foundation A foundation devoted to saving the Philippine Eagle.

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