9 Biggest Eagles in the World

Inside: Explore the World's Largest Eagle Wingspan!

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• The largest hawk is the approximately 14-pound martial hawk native to sub-Saharan Africa. It has a wingspan of 8.5 feet and is powerful enough to knock a full-grown man down.
• The stellar sea eagle comes in second, with an 8.3-foot wingspan and a weight of 20 pounds. They occur in eastern Russia along the coast of the Bering Sea, and in Japan and Korea in summer.
• The American bald eagle ranks third, with an 8.2-foot wingspan and an average weight of 17 pounds.

While some raptors, such as vultures and pelicans, are larger, eagles are among the largest raptors. There are more than 60 species of eagles in the world, most of which live in Asia and Africa. Some eagles that live in forests have smaller wingspans, while those that live in open areas have larger wingspans.

Here is our list of the world's largest eagles!

The Philippine Eagle has a wingspan of 6.5 feet. The endangered eagle, which weighs about 17.5 pounds, is also known as the monkey hawk. The Philippine eagle is the national bird of the Philippines and feeds on monkeys, bats, civets, flying squirrels, other birds, snakes and lizards. Most of these eagles live in Mindanao.

In terms of length and wing surface area, the Philippine eagle is considered to be the largest living eagle in the world, only the Steller's sea eagle and the harpy eagle are larger in terms of weight and volume. It has been declared the national bird of the Philippines.

The harpy eagle is the national bird of Panama. While you can see horned eagles from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, they are most abundant in the Darien region of Panama. With a wingspan of 6.5 feet and a weight of about 11 pounds, this eagle is one of the most powerful birds in the world. (The largest horned eagles can reach a length of 3.5 feet with a wingspan of just under 8 feet)

A large wingspan is unusual for a bird that lives in lowland forests throughout Central and South America. When it sails through the woods, it uses its tail as a rudder.

Females are larger than males and can weigh up to 20 pounds. Male horned eagles, on the other hand, usually have a maximum weight of 13.2 lbs. The largest harpy ever recorded weighed 27 pounds.

These eagles lay their eggs on top of emerging trees. Once the chicks hatch, the male finds food and brings it to the mother, who feeds herself and her young.

The eagle, which weighs about 9 pounds, soars breathtakingly high above the hills and mountains of southern and eastern Africa. Its 7.7-foot wingspan makes it easy to spot. Its diet consists almost entirely of rock hyraxes. The eagle lives almost exclusively in dry, rocky environments called kopjes.

What is unusual about these hawks is that the male often brings food to the female before she lays her eggs. Then, when she hatched, he brought almost all the food. Although he gathers food, the male spends about 50% of the day sitting on the eggs, but the female usually does all the incubation at night. Typically, females lay two eggs every three days. When the youngest hatches, the older siblings usually kill it. Unfortunately, older siblings are only able to survive on their own about 50 percent of the time.

This hawk has several different names, including wedge-tailed hawk, Bunjil, and Eaglehawk. People wouldn't say it's small because it has a 7.5-foot wingspan and weighs about 12 pounds. It is the largest bird of prey in Australia.

Born without feathers, this eagle is pale pink in color. During the first 10 years of its life, it will gradually turn black. This Australian eagle has a large territory, but it prefers open ranges and forest habitats. They build their nest in the tallest tree in their environment, even if it is dead. Though farmers thought it was eating lamb, shot and poisoned the bird, its most common food was rabbit, which it often scooped up alive.

Weighing about 14 pounds, the golden eagle is the largest game bird in North America. Its territory is not limited to that country. It is the national bird of Mexico. This eagle has a wingspan of 7.5 feet. It is also one of the strongest birds, as it can swoop live coyotes off its feet.

The eagle usually returns to the same nest every year. Each year, it adds plant material to it, making the nest gigantic. Female golden eagles lay one to three eggs, which they hatch, while males forage for two eggs. Eggs hatch in about 45 days. Both parents then help raise the young who take their first flight when they are about 72 days old.

The white-tailed eagle has a wingspan of about 7.9 feet and weighs about 11 pounds. This is the largest eagle in Europe and you can see it in most of Europe, Russia and northern Japan. Birds once thought to be endangered are making a comeback. Although this hawk is primarily an opportunistic feeder and doesn't mind stealing food from other birds, it prefers to eat fish.

Reliant on their parents for the first 15 to 17 weeks of life, young white-tailed sea eagles often fly over a large area before finding a perfect home. Once discovered, they typically spend the rest of their lives in the area. They return to the same den each year to give birth to their young. These nests can be as deep as 6.5 feet and as wide as 6.5 feet.

The white head and brown body weighing about 17 pounds make the American bald eagle one of the most recognizable birds in the world. This is especially true in the United States, where it is the national bird. With its 8.2-foot wingspan, it's hard to miss this soaring bird. They can fly at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.

While they may hunt when necessary, they are scavengers and prefer to eat meat killed by roadkill and others. Due to the size of this hawk, other birds usually scatter when a bird appears. They nest in hardy conifers or broadleaf trees near large bodies of water such as coastlines, rivers and lakes. The largest bald eagle nest ever found was 9.6 feet wide and 20 feet deep.

Barely beating the American condor, most stellar sea eagles have a wingspan of about 8.3 feet and weigh about 20 pounds. In Japan, they are summer visitors and they are called O-washi.

This vulnerable bird breeds only along the coasts of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea in the Russian Far East. They will feed on crabs, shellfish, squid, small animals, ducks, gulls, and carrion, although they prefer to live in areas where salmon thrive in their summer homes in Japan and Korea. The size of this eagle makes seeing one an impressive sight.

Wudiao lives in sub-Saharan Africa. Not only does it have an 8.5-foot wingspan, but it's also one of the most powerful birds in the world. The 14-pound bird can knock a full-grown man over, making it the largest eagle alive. This eagle's diet varies, but due to its size, it needs to eat frequently. It feeds primarily on birds such as guinea fowl, vultures and poultry. In other regions, its diet consists mainly of mammals such as the hyrax and duiker.

These birds almost always nest where they can directly swoop down. It is not uncommon for Wudiao to have two nests. Then, it rotates between them every other year.

Wherever you are in the world, you can step into nature and start exploring. Look up and you might see one of the large eagles.

9 Biggest Eagles in the World Summary

Here is a summarized list of the largest eagles in the world:

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