Harpy Eagles Nest In Belize For First Time In 60 Years- Mongabay

[hatrack]

Scientists have confirmed the presence of a harpy eagle nest in the Maya Mountains of Belize. The discovery represents the most northerly breeding pair in the Americas, and signals a comeback for a species which has become locally extinct in much of Central America due to human activity.

With wingspans seven feet long and the capability to take down prey as large as monkeys and sloths, harpy eagles are one of the largest and most powerful birds in the Americas. Once present in lowland neotropical forests ranging from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, harpy eagles became largely extirpated in much of Central America during the last century due to forest fragmentation and hunting. The last confirmed sighting of a harpy eagle in Belize occurred in 1958. However, their presence in Belize was again confirmed by the 2005 sighting of a juvenile by scientists at the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE).

“We had just started hiking that morning when someone said, ‘look at that huge bird’. I looked through my binoculars to see a large, gray and white eagle with a double crest. It was magnificent, and I was speechless. I told my colleagues that it looked like a Harpy Eagle, but that they weren’t supposed to be here (in Belize) any more”, said Jamie Rotenberg, an ornithologist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington who was part of the survey team.

Since then, more eagles have been brought in from captive breeding populations in Panama, bringing up the total confirmed presence to four individuals.

EDIT

http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0106-morgan_harpy_belize.html

[ladjf]

1. Good news for a change. nt

[rbixby]

2. Man, whenever I hear about harpys

I can't help but think of Michele Bachmann