Harpy eagles nest in Belize for the first time in over 60 years (pictures)
Morgan Erickson-Davis, mongabay.com
January 06, 2011
Scientists have confirmed the presence of a harpy eagle nest in the Maya Mountains of Belize. The discovery represents the most northerly breeding pair in the Americas, and signals a comeback for a species which has become locally extinct in much of Central America due to human activity. With wingspans seven feet long and the capability to take down prey as large as monkeys and sloths, harpy eagles are one of the largest and most powerful birds in the Americas. Once present in lowland neotropical forests ranging from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, harpy eagles became largely extirpated in much of Central America during the last century due to forest fragmentation and hunting. The last confirmed sighting of a harpy eagle in Belize occurred in 1958. However, their presence in Belize was again confirmed by the 2005 sighting of a juvenile by scientists at the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE).
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