Philippines Eagle

The Philippine eagle is one of the largest and most endangered eagles in the world. The raptor is currently documented on just four Philippine islands—Mindanao, Luzon, Leyte, and Samar. Scientists estimate that perhaps only a few hundred pairs remain in the wild.

With a wingspan of nearly seven feet and a weight of up to 14 pounds, the species, Pithecophaga jefferyi, casts an impressive shadow as it soars through its rain forest home. Its long tail helps it skillfully maneuver while hunting for its elusive prey, like flying lemurs or palm civets.


But securing prey has become increasingly difficult for one of the world’s largest raptors: Continued deforestation due to logging and development in the Philippines has pushed the eagle to the brink of extinction. Today those that remain struggle to find enough food and habitat to survive. Though some of these resourceful birds have adjusted to the reduced surroundings, development continues to threaten their existence.

Conservationists are dedicated to providing the national bird a secure home. The Philippine Eagle Foundation on Mindanao hopes to save the species from extinction through its conservation and education efforts. Officially established in 1987, the center’s captive-breeding program has raised 21 birds over the past two decades.


Philippine Eagle Territory and Prey

A breeding pair of eagles requires from 25 to 50 miles of rain forest to survive. While they often catch prey in midair, those nesting in large trees in lowland areas search for prey on the ground. Eagles hunt a variety of animals, ranging in size from small bats to 30-pound deer. The most common prey is the flying lemur, an arboreal mammal with webbed feet and claws. Other meals of choice include palm civets, flying squirrels, snakes, rats, and birds.


Philippine Eagle Courtship and Reproduction

Female eagles reach sexual maturity at five years; males, at seven. Courtship behavior includes soaring together in the air, diving and chasing each other, exposing talons, and increased vocalization. Nest building—often in dipterocarp trees, which can be 80 to 160 feet off the ground—and an increase in the amount of time spent at the nest also indicate a willingness to breed. Like other eagles, this species is thought to stay monogamous until one of the pair dies.

A breeding pair typically produces a single young every other year. In Mindanao egg-laying season starts in September and may go until February; in Luzon, it goes only from December to January, shortened perhaps because the peak typhoon season, from September to November, is not conducive to egg laying. Both the male and female incubate the egg, though the female tends to spend more daytime hours and all night in the nest. Once hatched, the eaglet stays in the nest for about five months, dependant on its parents for food. After that, it remains in its parents’ home range and partly in their care for another 12 months or so.

Though most immature birds die before reaching sexual maturity, the species has the potential for a long life span. A Philippine eagle living in a zoo in Rome, Italy, may have been up to 41 years old when it died, although the eagle’s life span in the wild is thought to be shorter.