Pithecophaga

The Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle, is an eagle of the family Accipitridae endemic to forests in the Philippines. It has brown and white-coloured plumage, and a shaggy crest, and generally measures 86 to 102 cm (2.82 to 3.35 ft) in length and weighs 4.04 to 8.0 kg (8.9 to 17.6 lb). It is considered the largest of the extant eagles in the world in terms of length and wing surface, with Steller's sea eagle and the harpy eagle being larger in terms of weight and bulk. Among the rarest and most powerful birds in the world, it has been declared the Philippine national bird. It is critically endangered, mainly due to massive loss of habitat resulting from deforestation in most of its range. Killing a Philippine eagle is punishable under Philippine law up to 12 years in prison and heavy fines. The first European to study the species was the English explorer and naturalist John Whitehead in 1896, who observed the bird and whose servant, Juan, collected the first specimen a few weeks later. The skin of the bird was sent to William Robert Ogilvie-Grant in London in 1896, who initially showed it off in a local restaurant and described the species a few weeks later. Upon its scientific discovery, the Philippine eagle was first called the monkey-eating eagle because of reports from natives of Bonga, Samar, where the species was first discovered, that it preyed exclusively on monkeys; from these reports it gained its generic name, from the Greek pithecus (πίθηκος) ('ape or monkey') and phagus (-φάγος) ('eater of'). The species name commemorates Jeffery Whitehead, the father of John Whitehead. Later studies revealed, however, that the alleged monkey-eating eagle also ate other animals, such as colugos, large snakes, monitor lizards, and even large birds, such as hornbills. This, coupled with the fact that the same name applied to the African crowned eagle and the Central and South American harpy eagle, resulted in a presidential proclamation to change its name to Philippine eagle in 1978, and in 1995 was declared a national emblem. This species has no recognized subspecies. Apart from Philippine eagle and monkey-eating eagle, it has also been called the great Philippine eagle. It has numerous names in the many Philippine languages, including ágila ('eagle'), háribon (from haring ibón, 'king bird'), and banog ('kite'). Use of the name 'Philippine eagle' in preference of 'monkey-eating eagle' was the subject of an official government proclamation by Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos in 1978. A study of the skeletal features in 1919 led to the suggestion that the nearest relative was the harpy eagle. The species was included in the subfamily Harpiinae until a 2005 study of DNA sequences which identified them as not members of the group, finding instead, that the nearest relatives are snake eagles (Circaetinae), such as the bateleur. The species has subsequently been placed in the subfamily Circaetinae. The Philippine eagle's nape is adorned with long, brown feathers that form a shaggy, manelike crest. The eagle has a dark face and a creamy-brown nape and crown. The back of the Philippine eagle is dark brown, while the underside and underwings are white. The heavy legs are yellow, with large, powerful, dark claws, and the prominent, large, high-arched, deep beak is a bluish-gray. The eagle's eyes are blue-gray. Juveniles are similar to adults except their upperpart feathers have pale fringes. The Philippine eagle is typically reported as measuring 86–102 cm (2 ft 10 in–3 ft 4 in) in total length, but a survey of several specimens from some of the largest natural history collections in the world found the average was 95 cm (3 ft 1 in) for males and 105 cm (3 ft 5 in) for females. Based on the latter measurements, this makes it the longest extant species of eagle, as the average for the female equals the maximum reported for the harpy eagle and Steller's sea eagle. The longest Philippine eagle reported anywhere and the longest eagle outside of the extinct Haast's eagle is a specimen from Field Museum of Natural History with a length of 112 cm (3 ft 8 in), but it had been kept in captivity so may not represent the wild individuals due to differences in the food availability. The level of sexual dimorphism in size is not certain, but the male is believed to be typically about 10% smaller than the female, and this is supported by the average length provided for males and females in one source. In many of the other large eagle species, the size difference between adult females and males can exceed 20%. For adult Philippine eagles, the complete weight range has been reported as 4.7 to 8.0 kg (10.4 to 17.6 lb), while others have found the average was somewhat lower than the above range would indicate, at 4.5 kg (9.9 lb) for males and 6.0 kg (13.2 lb) for females. One male (age not specified) was found to weigh 4.04 kg (8.9 lb). The Philippine eagle has a wingspan of 184 to 220 cm (6 ft 0 in to 7 ft 3 in) and a wing chord length of 57.4–61.4 cm (22.6–24.2 in).