🇵🇭Philippines·National Bird·since 1995
🦅Philippine Eagle
One of the largest eagles alive — and one of the rarest.
The Philippine eagle is one of the largest and rarest eagles on Earth, found only in the old-growth forests of four islands in the Philippines. Killing one was made a capital offense in 1995 under the same proclamation that declared it the national bird.
Why this animal?
Endemic to the Philippines, found nowhere else, and Critically Endangered — the eagle is both a symbol of national identity and a focal point for forest conservation across the archipelago.
Things to know
- ·Philippine eagles have a 2-metre wingspan and can take prey as large as monkeys, flying lemurs, and small deer.
- ·Pairs mate for life and produce only one chick every two years.
- ·Fewer than 400 breeding pairs remain in the wild.
- ·The Philippine Eagle Center in Davao breeds and rehabilitates eagles for release.
- ·They were originally called 'monkey-eating eagles' before the name was changed — they eat more flying lemurs than monkeys, but it sounded better.