The Haast's eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) is an extinct species of eagle that once lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the pouakai of Maori legend. It is typically reported as measuring 86–102 cm (2 ft 10 in–3 ft 4 in) in total length. [28], Giant eagle (Aquila moorei), Haast's eagle, or Pouakai, "Notes on Harpagornis Moorei, an Extinct Gigantic Bird of Prey, containing Discussion of Femur, Ungual Phalanges and Rib", "Ancient DNA Provides New Insights into the Evolutionary History of New Zealand's Extinct Giant Eagle", "Ancient DNA Tells Story of Giant Eagle Evolution", "Notes on the weight, flying ability, habitat, and prey of Haast's Eagle (, "Recently Extinct Animals - Species Info - Haast's Eagle", The morphology of the bill apparatus in the Steller's Sea Eagle, "Maori legend of man-eating bird is true", "Golden eagle attacks deer in rare camera trap footage", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Haast%27s_eagle&oldid=990671141, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 November 2020, at 21:11. The Golden eagle is the most popular national bird in countries such as Germany, Austria, Mexico, and Albania. The Haast's eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) is an extinct species of eagle that once lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the pouakai of Maori legend. They also prefer elevated areas such as mountains, riverside cliffs, and canyonlands. It is a relatively unknown bird mostly because of its exotic origin and the small wild population. It had wings that were suited to flapping and maneuvering in the dense forest vegetation. Haast's eagle has sometimes been portrayed incorrectly as having evolved toward flightlessness, but this is not so. [22], The strong legs and massive flight muscles of these eagles would have enabled the birds to take off with a jumping start from the ground, despite their great weight. [17][20][21], The talons of the Haast's eagle were similar in length to those of the harpy eagle, with a front-left talon length of 4.9 to 6.15 cm (1.93 to 2.42 in) and a hallux-claw of possibly up to 11 cm (4.3 in). [15][16] This wingspan is broadly similar to the larger range of female size in some extant eagles: the wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax), golden eagle (A. chrysaetos), martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus), white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) are all known to exceed 2.5 m in wingspan. Its diet includes mainly mammalian species. This characteristic would compensate for the reduction in wing area by providing additional lift. Although considered the largest eagle, it does not have the longest wingspan due to its habitat preferences of thick forests and woodlands which require limited wingspans for maximum maneuver in the condensed spaces. The harpy eagle is an apex predator and also the largest extant species of eagles in the world. Eagles are birds of prey synonymous with strength, power, and tenacity. The feet are covered with feathers up to the base. Brazil nut collectors, landowners, and ecotourism operators are joining forces on … [3] Haast's eagle became extinct around 1400, after the moa were hunted to extinction by the first Māori. [6] Haast named the eagle Harpagornis moorei after George Henry Moore, the owner of the Glenmark Estate, where the bones of the bird had been found. It feeds on small mammals such as jackrabbits and can sometimes attack large mammals such as lambs, goats and other domestic animals. It has a long wingspan of up to 2.3 meters and the characteristic wedge-shaped tail. [13] The Philippine eagle might be a particularly appropriate living species to compare with the Haast's eagle, because it too evolved in an insular environment from smaller ancestors (apparently basal snake eagles) to island gigantism in the absence of large carnivorous mammals and other competing predators. If this estimate is correct, its increase in weight by ten to fifteen times is an exceptionally rapid weight increase. They hunt and prey on a wide variety of mammals, fish, and birds. The Laykyun Setkyar was completed in 2008, the reclining Buddha in 1991. The suggested increase in the average weight of Haast's eagle over that period would therefore represent the largest, fastest evolutionary increase in average weight of any known vertebrate species. Moa were grazers, functionally similar to deer or cattle in other habitats, and Haast's eagles were the hunters who filled the same niche as top-niche mammalian predators, such as tigers or lions. 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