Philippine Eagle
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| Philippine Eagle | ||||||||||||||
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| Pithecophaga jefferyi Ogilvie-Grant, 1896 |
The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is one of the rarest, largest and most powerful birds in the world. This bird of prey, or raptor, belongs to the family Accipitridae. It is also known as "Haribon" or "Haring Ibon," meaning "Bird King."
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[edit] Anatomy
This eagle's head is adorned with long brown feathers that give it the appearance of a lion's mane. The upperside of the Philippine Eagle is brown, the underside white; The heavy legs are yellow with large, powerful claws, the prominent large, high arched, deep bill is a bluish-gray, with blue-gray eyes. The average female is about 1 meter (3.3 feet) long, weighs about 7 kg (15.5 lb), and has a wingspan of 2 meters (6.7 feet). This makes the Philippine Eagle one of the world's largest eagles with the largest wing surface area. The Harpy Eagle and Steller's Sea Eagle are about the same size as this species. The adult male is about 10-20% smaller and averages at about 5 kg (11 lbs). The life expectancy for the Philippine Eagle is around 30-60 years.
[edit] Distribution
The Philippine Eagle can be found in rainforests of four major Philippine islands - Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao.
[edit] Ecology, behavior and life history
Like most eagles the Philippine Eagle is monogamous. A couple remains together for a lifetime. The nest is normally built on an emergent dipterocarp, that may be nearly 3 metres across and about 30 m above the ground. The female lays one egg. The parents will care for the egg and the young for twenty months, so they may breed only every other year.
Philippine Eagles food habits vary from island to island it inhabit, the food habits of Philippine Eagles in Luzon have a different preference with the eagles in Mindanao. Because of the difference in terms of the faunal composition of Luzon and Mindanao, them representing different faunal regions, the eagles there would definitely have a different diet regime. For example, flying lemurs, which are the preferred prey in Mindanao, are absent in Luzon.
[edit] Etymology and taxonomic history
The scientific name commemorates Jeffery Whitehead, father of the English explorer and naturalist John Whitehead, who collected the original specimen.
Upon discovery in 1896, it was first called the Monkey-eating Eagle, based on reports from natives that it preyed exclusively on monkeys (hence its generic name, from the Greek pithecus ("ape or monkey") and phagus ("eater (of)") . Later studies revealed, however, that they also prey on other animals such as colugo, civets, large snakes, monitor lizards, and even large birds like hornbills. This, and the fact that the same name applied to the African Crowned Hawk-eagle and the South American Harpy Eagle resulted in a presidential proclamation to change its name to Philippine Eagle.
With a unique evolutionary history;
The country's national bird, the Philippine Eagle, is one of a kind, not only because it is found nowhere else, but also since it has a unique evolutionary history, clearly distinguishing it from other giant eagles once thought of as its immediate family. At least this is what a recent study of the Philippine Eagles' DNA suggests. Scientists from the University of Michigan, USA analyzed DNA isolated from blood samples of the Philippine Eagle and those of the Harpy Eagle and Crested Eagles of the Americas and the New Guinea Harpy Eagle of New Guinea, all equal heavyweights of the bird world.
All of the last three giants named are close relatives as revealed by DNA sequences, but only remotely related to the Philippine Eagle. He also said that all of the five traditional "harpy eagle group" members live in tropical forests, feeding mainly on medium-sized mammals.
"But based on the genetic analysis, the similarities between the Philippine Eagle and the other harpies resulted not from kinship but from convergent change, driven by natural selection for reproductive success in tropical forests and a shared taste for mammals," Dr. Mindell added.
Amazingly, Mindell's team also found that the only distant relatives of Philippine Eagles are snake eagles found elsewhere in Southeast Asia and far Africa.
In the Philippines, it is distantly related to the featherweight but equally imposing Serpent Eagle, which breeds in this country but is also common in Asia.
The study of Dr, Mindell's team passed expert reviews and was published in the scientific journal "Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution".[1]
[edit] Importance to humans
[edit] In Philippine culture
The American bald eagle will be replaced by the Philippine eagle on the logo of Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines Inc. per official announcement on august 24, 2007 at the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) center in Malagos, Baguio District, Davao where the company adopted a 7-month-old eagle bred in captivity but which would in time be released to the wild. Boysen named the eagle Pin-Pin (Pinturang Pinoy) the 21st Philippine eagle bred in captivity at the PEF center. In 2004, Vice President Noli de Castro adopted a PEF-bred eagle named Kabayan which was released into the forests of Mt. Apo in North Cotabato, but was electrocuted at the reservation of the Philippine National Oil Corp.[1]
To pay homage to the eagle, the Davao team of the Metropolitan Basketball Association was named as the "Davao Eagles."[citation needed]
[edit] Conservation
The 2007 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN) included it as Critically Endangered.[2]
Charles Lindbergh, best known for crossing the Atlantic in 1927, was fascinated by this eagle. As a representative of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) he travelled to the Philippines several times between 1969 and 1972, where he helped persuade the government to protect the eagle.
Its numbers have slowly dwindled over the decades with only an estimated 500 pairs left. The Philippine Eagle may soon no longer be found in the wild, unless direct intervention is taken. The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) of Davao City is one such organization dedicated to the protection and conservation of the Philippine Eagle and its forest habitat. In fact, PEF has been successfully breeding Philippine Eagles in captivity for over a decade now and has also conducted the first experimental release of a captive-bred eagle to the wild. Ongoing research on behavior, ecology and population dynamics is also underway.
On August 11, 2007, a breeding pair of Philippine Eagle were discovered nesting in Zamboanga del Norte and were doing (mutual soaring) courtship flying displays above an old nest tree in Barangay Linay, Baliguian. As of August 2007, the egg was expected to be laid on September, 2007. The Linay nesting site is the lowest recorded for Philippine Eagles in Mindanao (369 meters above sea level); the DENR declared it as a Philippine Eagle "critical habitat" through RA 9147 or the Philippine Wildlife Act.[3]As of September 2007, the Philippine Department of Tourism would construct a new lounge at the Philippine Eagle Center at Baguio district, Davao.[4]
On December 7, 2007, the 22nd eagle bred in captivity at the Philippine Eagle Center, Mindanao hatched, second since 2004.[5] Let it be remembered, also, that at 11:35 a.m., January 6, 2006, the 20th eagle chick hatched since the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) first successfully bred Philippine Eagles at the Center in 1992. It is a sibling to the only other Philippine Eagle produced for the season, Chick #19 which hatched on November 25. The chicks are the offspring of Princess Maasim and Tsai, one of 3 natural eagle pairs at the Philippine Eagle Center .[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] Bibliography
- BirdLife International (2004). Pithecophaga jefferyi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
http://www.philippineeagle.org/
[edit] References
- ^ Inquirer.net, ‘Pin-Pin’ the eagle roosts on logo, awaits freedom
- ^ Birdlife.org, Philippine Eagle - BirdLife Species Factsheet
- ^ Sunstar, Philippine Eagle found nesting in Zamboanga Norte
- ^ Mindanao News, DOT puts up visitors' lounge at Eagle camp
- ^ Manila Times, Endangered Philippine eagle hatches in captivity
- ^ philippineeagle.org, 20th Eagle chick hatches at Philippine Eagle Center
[edit] External links
- Philippine Eagle Foundation A foundation devoted to saving the Philippine Eagle.
- Haribon.org (The Largest Eagle in the World.)
- Animal Diversity Web - Pithecophaga jefferyi
- [2]
National symbols of the Philippines | ||
|---|---|---|
| Official | Flag · Coat of arms · "Lupang Hinirang" · Cariñosa · Carabao · Philippine Eagle · Bangus · Sampaguita · Narra · Anahaw · Mango · Sipa · Barong and Baro't saya · José Rizal | |
| Unofficial | "Bayan Ko" · "Pilipinas Kong Mahal" · Blessed Virgin Mary · Juan de la Cruz | |
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