As soon as I heard the word “harpy,” I was curious as to what it meant.
I discovered that it refers to a ferocious monster bird, which perfectly describes the personality of this enormous size eagle among all of the 60 species of them.
A harpy eagle’s size ranges from 2ft10” to 3ft6”.
These huge-sized raptors fascinate me to explore more about them so let’s dive deep into learning more about such facts.
Harpy Eagle Length
The harpy eagle has a vast wingspan that ranges from 5ft 9” to 7ft 4”, and has a total length between 2ft 10” and 3ft 6”.
Their tail is around 1ft 9in long, and their wing chord is between 1ft 9” to 2ft 1”.
With a tarsus that is 4.5 to 5.1” long and an exposed culmen that is 1.7 to 2.6” long from the cere.
Additionally, the average talon size in men is about 8.6 cm, whereas it is about 12.3 cm in females.
| Basis | Harpy Eagle |
| Height | 2ft 10” and 3ft 6” |
| Wingspan | 5ft 9” to 7ft 4” |
Harpy Eagle Weight
In harpy, eagle’s weight is a sex-dependent parameter so the weight of a female harpy eagle ranges from 6 to 9 kg (13-20lbs).
They can weigh up to 22lbs (10 kg), according to several analyses, and the most astonishing research discovered an extraordinarily huge captive female named
“Jezebel” weighed 27.3lbs (12.3 kg).
However, since the results pertain to captive eagles with different food availability, it may not be assumed that this holds for other harpy eagles.
Males typically weigh between 8-13lbs (4 to 6 kg) less than females.
Adult Harpy male average weight is listed as being between 9.7 – 10.5lbs (4.4-4.8 kg), whereas adult females’ average weight is between 16-18lbs (7.3 and 8.3 kg), indicating a difference of at least 35% in average weight.
| Harpy Eagle Male Weight | Harpy Eagle Female Weight |
| 9.7 – 10.5lbs (4.4-4.8 kg) | 16-18lbs (7.3 and 8.3 kg) |
Height and Weight of the Baby Harpy Eagle
Baby Harpy eagles have fluffy grey-white feathers and look similar to any other bird’s chick except for their indistinguishable eagle-like curved yellow beak.
Baby eagles are called eaglets, these little chicks are very light in weight, unlike their parents. They weigh around 100g (0.2lbs) and are a few inches in length.
After mating females lay 2 eggs for incubation, but the pair only focuses on one egg for parenting the other eaglet is only kept as a backup in case the first one doesn’t turn out healthy.
The pair rises one eaglet in a year and can breed up to a maximum of 30 years still the number of offsprings are less as compared to other birds.
Harpy Eagle Talon-Size
Claws are the powerful weapon of every raptor, this giant bird has long 3 to 4inches talons, and in some cases can grow long up to 5 inches.
Raptors use their talons to catch and tear their prey. these talons have the strength to rip off animals weighing up to 33 pounds like monkeys and sloths.
The terrifying talons can exert pressure of about 700 pounds leading to crushing the bones of their prey and killing them instantly.
What is the size of the biggest Harpy Eagle ever?
The biggest harpy can be 46 inches long which is 3.5 feet with a wingspan of 7.5 feet and a maximum being 20 pounds, females being twice this mass.
These are mostly found in the upper canopy of Darien, Panama region.
Harpy eagle vs Bald eagle Size Comparison
The bald eagles are quite small raptors compared to the harpy eagle yet are known as the largest bird in North America.
The bald eagle’s height goes from 28 to 38 inches with weight ranging from 6 to 14 lbs
Harpies wingspan went up to 7.5 feet while for blad maximum is 7.7 feet.
Harpies have this unique appearance of head covered with gray feathers like a crown which indeed helps them to process sound more easily and improve hearing ability.
They have white wings, black bodies, breasts, black beaks, and yellow feet.
While Bald eagles’ head is covered with bright white feathers followed by a deep brown body, yellow beak, and yellow feet.
If these two raptors went into a fight then harpy would make it to the end as it has amazingly powerful claws, exceptional strength, a heavier body, and intelligence.
| Basis | Harpy Eagle | Bald Eagle |
| Height | 2ft 10” and 3ft 6” | 28 to 38 inches (2.1-3.1ft) |
| Wingspan | 7.5 feet | 7.7 feet |
| Weight | 9.7-18lbs (4.4-8.3kg) | 6.6-14lbs (3-6kg) |
Harpy Eagle Size Vs Human Size Comparison
The average size of a human is about 5ft 4”-5ft 9” with a weight of about 136-176 pounds.
Luckily harpy eagle followed by other species of eagle such as the bald eagle and golden eagle does not attack humans and remains quiet if humans pass by until they detect any threat.
As they are not afraid of humans it becomes easy for humans to kill them using some weapons.
Harpies are as big as average-sized humans and are more powerful than humans but they can not lift weight more than a few pounds so they cannot snatch babies.
I’m afraid that the harpy will win a fight against a human unless he/she isn’t weaponed with some guns.
| Basis | Harpy Eagle | Average Human |
| Height | 2ft 10” and 3ft 6” | 5ft 4”-5ft 9” |
| Wingspan | 7.5 feet | – |
| Weight | 9.7-18lbs (4.4-8.3kg) | 136-176lbs (60-80kg) |
Harpy Eagle Size Vs Wedge Tail Eagle Size Comparison
Wedge-tailed eagle may not be called small as it has a huge 7.5 feet long wingspan, height is about 1m (3ft 2”) and weighs about 12 pounds, known as the biggest raptor of Australis.
But compared to the harpy, the wedge tail sounds small and a little less powerful whereas if it’s the fight between the bald eagle and wedge tail then the wedge tail would win.
Here’s the fight with a more powerful raptor that is a harpy eagle, and so wedge tail will be losing the game.
| Basis | Harpy Eagle | Wedge Tail Eagle |
| Height | 2ft 10” and 3ft 6” | 3ft 2” |
| Wingspan | 7.5 feet | 7.5 feet |
| Weight | 9.7-18lbs (4.4-8.3kg) | 8-12lbs (4-5kg) |
Harpy Eagle Size Vs Philippine Eagle Size Comparison
Concerning size, both harpy and philippine eagle do not exceed the mark of 3.5 feet with a wingspan being a maximum of up to 7.3 ft.
Philippine weight up to 18lbs while harpy up to 20lbs.
Both harpy and philippine are known as the largest raptor in the Accipitridae family.
Harpy is called larger in terms of its weight and height while philippine are termed
largest for their wingspan.
When a harpy faces the philippine it’s difficult to say who would win, as both are the king of raptors and have similar strengths.
But the harpy has a more steady body structure and its claws are strongest than any other raptor and are often compared with a grizzly bear.
Keeping in mind these properties of harpy we can conclude that there are more chances of harpy winning the face-off.
| Basis | Harpy Eagle | Philippine Eagle Size |
| Height | 2ft 10” and 3ft 6” | 3ft 5” |
| Wingspan | 7.5 feet | 7.3 feet |
| Weight | 9.7-18lbs (4.4-8.3kg) | 8-12lbs (4-5kg) |
Harpy Eagle Size Vs Vulture
Eagle is declared as the king of birds while vultures are the most disregarded birds and comparatively less experienced than an eagle.
Vultures for their food avoid hunting and rather wait for the prey to die than enjoy it peacefully.
The size, weight, and wingspan of vulture-like other birds vary with the species for example the size of the griffon vulture is 93 to 120 cm weighing 6.5 to 11kg while the black vulture is 93 to 120 cm and weighing 1.2 to 1.9 kg. This makes them one of the largest birds in the world.
Apart from its size, a fight between vulture and harpy is undoubtedly won by the harpy as it is more experienced and has great stamina and strength with the strongest claws.
| Basis | Harpy Eagle | Vulture |
| Height | 2ft 10” and 3ft 6” | 3 – 3.9ft |
| Wingspan | 7.5 feet | 4.3-8.5ft |
| Weight | 9.7-18lbs (4.4-8.3kg) | 2.6-8lbs (1.2-8kg) |
Conclusion:
Harpy eagle holds the ultimate supremacy in raptor birds by comparing it with other legit raptors.
I hope this article was informative enough. Thank You For Reading!
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