![]() ![]() ![]() The back of the Philippine eagle is dark brown, while the underside and underwings are white. The eagle has a dark face and a creamy-brown nape and crown. The Philippine eagle's nape is adorned with long, brown feathers that form a shaggy, mane-like crest. The species has subsequently been placed in the subfamily Circaetinae. 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. Evolutionary history Ī 1919 study of the bird’s skeletal features led to the suggestion that the nearest relative was the Harpy eagle ( Harpia harpyja). It has numerous names in the many Philippine languages, including ágila ("eagle", a Spanish loanword), háribon (from ” haring ibón”, "king bird"), and banog ("kite"). It has also been called the ”Great Philippine eagle”. This species has no recognized subspecies. In 1995, it was declared a national emblem under President Fidel V. This, coupled with the fact that the same name applied to the African Crowned eagle and the Central and South American Harpy eagle, it was renamed "Philippine eagle" in a 1978 proclamation by then- President Ferdinand Marcos. 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. The species name commemorates Jeffery Whitehead, the father of John Whitehead. These reports gave its generic name, from the Greek pithecus (πίθηκος, "ape” or “monkey") and phagus (-φάγος, "eater of"). 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. 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. 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. Killing a Philippine eagle is a criminal offence, punishable by law with up to 12 years imprisonment and heavy fines. The most significant threat to the species is loss of habitat, a result of high levels of deforestation throughout most of its range. It has been declared the national bird of the Philippines. The Philippine eagle is considered the largest of the extant eagles in the world in terms of length and wing surface area, with only Steller's sea eagle and the Harpy eagle being larger in terms of weight and bulk. It has brown and white-colored plumage, 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). The Philippine eagle ( Pithecophaga jefferyi), also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle, is a critically endangered species of eagle of the family Accipitridae which is endemic to forests in the Philippines. ![]()
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