The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is a giant forest raptor endemic to the Philippines. It is considered one of the tallest, rarest, largest and most powerful birds in the world. Unfortunately, it is also one of the world's rarest and certainly among its most critical endangered vertebrate species.
The eagle is known to be geographically restricted to the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao. Philippine eagles are monogamous and they bond for life. But contrary to claims that they opt to remain unpaired in the death of their mate, evidences from natural pairing techniques and data from all other raptors indicate that they take in new mates as replacement. Females reach sexual maturity at around five years and males, at seven.
The Philippine Eagle's head is adorned with long brown feathers. These feathers give it the appearance of a lion's mane, which in turn resembles the mythical gryphon. The back 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 ft) long, weighs about 7 kg (15.5 lb), and has a wingspan of 2 meters (6.7 ft). This makes the Philippine Eagle the world's largest eagle, and has the largest wing surface area. The adult male is about 10-20% smaller and averages at about 5 kg (11 lbs). Life expectancy for a wild eagle is estimated to be around 30-60 years.
