ORIGIN
Population Status/Origin /Distribtution Habitat
The Philippine Eagle is a giant forest raptor endemic to the Philippines. It is considered one of the largest and most powerful eagles in the world. Unfortunately, it is also one of the world's rarest and certainly among its most critically endangered vertebrate species.
The Eagle is known to be geographically restricted to the islands of Luzon, Samr, Leyte, and Mindanao. These islands were once connected to each other during the mid-Pleistocene when the sea level was lower by 120-160 meters than at present.
Recent biogeographical analysis suggest that the origin of Pithecophaga is clearly Papuasian. Its closest relative is believed to be the Ne Guinea harpy eagle,Haryopsis novaeguinea The ancestors of the Philippine Eagle probably arrived through te southeast part of Mindanao prior to the mid-Pleistocene.
Population Status
The current population status of the Philippine Eagle is not known. the species has been considered rare since it was first dicovered in 1896. morever, the eagle has always been difficult to census because of the significant logistic difficulties of working in dense, steep rain forest.
Attemps to survey or estimate the population status of the species have always been crude at best. Only scattered, individual reports occured up through the 1960's. Additionally, data from researchrs in the 70's to the early 80's were difficult to interpret. And because of the small sample sizes and nature of approaches used, no confidence limits could be established for these estimates.
The general indicators of population status continue to be alarming. Habitat and probably prey population are continuing to disappear at a rapid rate. Thus, wild population are losing places to live and likely are becoming food stressed .
Of the two primary characteristics of population, i.e. reproductive rate and survival rate the latter is the most important for populations long-lived, lowly reproducing species. Chance effects ( such as weather fluctuation, epidemics, inbreeding, etc.) only make matters worse for small population.
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Description
The species is charcterized by massive arched beak and long lanceolated crown feathers which can be raised to form a crest. individuals vary in size but average about a meter in length and have a wing spanof the around two meters. Wtih long tail feathers and broad wings, it is supremely adapted to foraging with high manueverability in the forest. it is often found soaring above the forest canopy.
Adults are generally dark brown withdorsally, withpaler margines of the feathers, Teh rectrices are dark brown with wide dark bands at the tips. The underparts of the body are buffy white. While the thigh and leg feathers have indistinct reddish brown shaft stripes. The beak is dark blue; the legs and feet are yellow; talons black; and the iris blue-gray.
Behavior
The Philippine Eagle is primary a rain forest raptor. Its natural habitat is mainly dipterocarp lowland forest where it is known to nest almost exclusively on large , old-growth dipterocarps from 100-1000 meters in elevation . Most of the nesting sites discovered during the recent decade have been associated with steep,forested valleys or ravines.
The food habit of the Philppines Eagle are known form prey items brought into nests. Studies from 1978-1983 revealed that 15 species of ver- tebrate prey were used for feeding the young including flying lemurs,squirrels,snakes,civets,horn bills bats and monkeys. The variety and size differences of prey suggest that the Philippine Eagle is an appportunistic hunter with preference for tree dwelling species. Its choice prey maybe re lated to the relative abundance of species or coin cides with the breeding season for the particular prey.
The breeding season extends from julu to February. The factors responsible for seasonal timing of breeding are not known. Rainfall patterns and seseanal abundance of prey have been suggested as possible environmental factors that trigger breeding.
Courtship behavior is well known ansd shows variation among individuals. The eagles may engage in aerail displays which in the past was mistaken for mating in mid-air. Copulation, however, occurs on perches or the nest.
The eagle's nest is built high on emergent trees usually on epihytes at the point where major branches spread apart. Each pair nests only once every two years and the females lay only one egg at a time. The egg is incubated alternatelt by the parents for about 60 days. Once hatched, the eaglet will stay in the nest for about 5.5 months. The parents will take care of it as long as 17 months
