SNN (ScrollingNetworkNews) ✿ ✿ Our Mel and Sydney returned to their nesting box with plenty of bonding occurring..but after 2.5 months of Sydney in the box from Dec 2013 to mid Feb 2014, the lack of prey gifts from Mel ( perhaps due to the severe and historic drought underway in California)and they have forgone the nesting process this year as many other raptors ✿ Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, Barn Owls consume more rodents – often regarded as pests by humans – than possibly any other creature. ✿ We remind viewers that sometimes owlets may not survive - the parents will dispose of things in "The Owl Way" -viewer discretion is advised, this is nature and the "Owl way". ✿ ~ ✿ “Animals, like us, are living souls. They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human. Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being.” ― Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals ✿ Each species is a masterpiece, a creation assembled with extreme care and genius." ~ E.O. Wilson

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Panama – Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)


The near-threatened Harpy Eagle is one of the world's largest birds. These raptors (or birds of prey) are only found in the Central and South American rainforests. They are one of the 600 species of birds that inhabit Yasuni National Park.

Harpy Eagles are powerful raptors; they are able to pluck monkeys right out of tree tops. Besides primates, this voracious carnivore feeds on other birds, sloths, opossums, large reptiles, and large rodents. Their hunting skills can be attributed in part to their impressive anatomy. Harpies have talons as long as grizzly bear claws (5 inches) and their wingspan is near in length to the height of an NBA basketball player (6-and-a-half feet). They can fly at speeds above 50 mph. Females weigh 14-18 lbs. and are larger than their male counterparts, which weigh 10-14 lbs. Harpies' bodies are almost 3 feet long.