Harpy Eagle with Neil Rettig.
The most powerful bird of prey on Earth, the harpy eagle, weighs up to 20 pounds (nine kilograms), has a seven-foot (2.1-meter) wing span, and is armed with talons as big as grizzly bear claws. Those deadly talons can exert several hundred pounds (over 50 kilograms) of pressure, crushing the bones of the sloths, monkeys, and other prey the eagle snatches from the rain forest canopy, often killing its victims instantly.
The fearsome predator once ranged from southeast Mexico to Argentina. Now, Panama's pristine rain forests are among the few places where the bird has survived.
although their habitats have been destroyed for various reasons, they still thrive in high-canopied rainforests. bird enthusiasts/ornithologists i have spoken to have documented them in both costa rica an nicaragua but i am not limiting their known ranges to these countries either
It hunts a variety of prey such as monkeys, flying lemurs, civet, small deer, large snakes, monitor lizards, large birds like hornbills, small dog and pigs. A 30 lbs cervus deer was found at one of its nest, also documented taking on a large python.
Philippine eagle has the largest skull and beak almost 3 times the size of Harpy eagle's beak.
Source: Haribon/The Largest Eagle in the World
i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/mulawin2007/nosepeck.jpg
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/eagles/introduction/3089/
webserv.nhl.nl/~ribot/english/haha_ng.htm
birdbase.hokkaido-ies.go.jp/rdb/rdb_en/pithjeff.pdf -(page 14of ecology)