Ranges from Central America to northern Argentina. Failry common in the interior of Suriname.

Harpy Eagles are found in tropical lowland forests from southeastern Mexico to northern Argentina and southern Brazil. This bird prefers large expanses of uninterrupted forest, but will hunt in open areas adjacent to forest patches.

Harpy Eagles mate for life; they build a large nest made of sticks and twigs. Harpies care for their nest by renewing the nest material. This behavior apparently reduces the number of parasites and/or keeps the young cool. Nests are usually located very high (often over 40 m) in trees or on cliffs. Females lay 1-2 eggs in each clutch, but only one survives, the last egg is ignored and does not hatch. The incubation period is about 53 to 56 days. Both parents care for the young. The young fladge after 4 to 6 months. Chicks are fed for ten months or more, requiring a long dependency. Adults raise only one chick every two or three years. Sexual maturity is at four or five years and the chick may return to the nest in the tree in which it was born.

Eagles are carnivores; they hunt and scavenge during the day (they are diurnal). Harpies eat sloths, monkeys, opossums, large reptiles (like iguanas), large rodents, and other birds. The eagle dives down onto its prey and catches it with outstretched, clawed feet.

It is thought to be locally or regionally extinct in large parts of its former range, notably most of central and north Central America and possibly Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, but recent records suggest that the population in the southern Atlantic forests may be migratory. It occurs in uninterrupted expanses of lowland tropical forest (typically below 900 m but locally to 2,000 m), but will nest where high-grade forestry has been practised, and use forest patches within a pasture/forest mosaic for hunting. Nests have been reported only 3 km apart in Panama and Guyana. Although still reasonably common in the Amazonian forests of Brazil and Peru, it will only survive in the long term if the escalating rate of forest destruction in the region is brought under control and a network of inviolate reserves established. Low overall population densities and slow reproductive rates make shooting the most significant threat over its entire range. It could perhaps survive in disturbed forests or even forest mosaics if its large size and boldness in the face of humans did not make it an irresistible target for hunters. It presumably also suffers from competition with humans for prey. This species is evaluated as Near Threatened.

Presumed sedentary, some populations in Argentina may migrate.

article number 1 Title
A sight record of the Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) in Chiapas, Mexico
Author(s): José Eduardo Morales-Pérez
Abstract: I recorded a Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) while conducting an environmental impact assessment with the Instituto de Historia Natural de Chiapas, Mexico, for construction of the highway from Sayula, Ve..[more]..
Source: ORNITOLOGIA NEOTROPICAL 9: 225-226
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article number 2 Title
Nesting of the Harpy Eagle (Thrasaetus harphyia)
Author(s): Bond, J.
Abstract: One of the most interesting results of an expedition to northeastern Brazil, taken by the writer in conjunctionw ith Mr. Rodolphe M. de Schauenseed uring the late winter and spring of 1926, was the di..[more]..
Source: The Auk 44(4):562-563
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article number 3 Title
FORAGING ECOLOGY OF REINTRODUCED CAPTIVE-BRED SUBADULT HARPY EAGLES (HARPIA HARPYJA) ON BARRO COLORADO ISLAND, PANAMA
Author(s): Janeene M. Touchton, Yu-Cheng Hsu, & Alberto Palleroni
Abstract: A male and female Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja), both reintroduced captive-bred subadults, were observed on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama for 89 and 205 days, respectively, between June 1999 and..[more]..
Source: ORNITOLOGIA NEOTROPICAL 13: 365-379, 2002
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