Crested Eagle

Crested Eagle
For other eagles known as "Crested Eagle", see Crested eagle.
Crested Eagle
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Morphnus
Dumont, 1816
Species: M. guianensis
Binomial name
Morphnus guianensis
(Daudin, 1800)

The Crested Eagle (Morphnus guianensis) is a large Neotropical eagle. It is the only member of the genus Morphnus. It is 71–89 cm (28–35 in) long and has a wingspan of 138–176 cm (55–70 in). Males are reported to weigh 1.75–3 kg (3.9–6.6 lbs), while females are about 10-20% larger.[1]

Perched in a tree eating an Emerald Tree Boa in Bolivia

It is sparsely distributed throughout its extensive range from Guatemala through Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil (where it has suffered greatly from habitat destruction,[2] being now found practically only in the Amazonian basin[3]), and east Andean Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay and Bolivia to north Argentina. It often overlaps in range with the less scarce Harpy Eagle, which is likely its close relative and is somewhat similar to appearance, though the Crested Eagle is half that species' bulk and avoids competition by taking generally smaller prey. It's possibly more of a predator of birds than the Harpy, but it also hunts small mammals such as capuchin monkeys[4] and tamarins.[5] Various studies have also pointed to the abundance of snakes and other reptiles in its prey base, but the relative frequency of different types of prey apparently varies greatly on the individual level.[6]

References

  1. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=hlIztc05HTQC&pg=PR2&lpg=PR2&dq=Morphnus+guianensis+RAPTORS&source=bl&ots=6xnq6P0IDE&sig=bx5ktto-GoGtnOq-ud_Nnljditc&hl=en&ei=OTiTTfavLcvogQeVhY2hCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CC8Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q&f=false
  2. ^ Jorge Luiz B. Albuquerque and others, "Águia-cinzenta (Harpyhaliaetus coronatus) e o Gavião-real-falso (Morphnus guianensis) em Santa Catarina e Rio Grande do Sul: prioridades e desafios para sua conservação", Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia (2006), V.14, issue 4, abstract available at [1]
  3. ^ Cf. Brazilian government site
  4. ^ cf. Wikiaves
  5. ^ Vasques & Heymann, "Crested Eagle (Morphnus guianensis) Predation on Infant Tamarins (Saguinus mystax and Saguinus fuscicollis, Callitrichinae)", Folia Primatologica, V 72, No.5, 2001, available at [2]
  6. ^ Cf. [3] with sources

External links


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