Harpy Eagles are among the world’s largest and most powerful eagles. Their rear talons are about 3-4 inches long – the same size as a grizzly bear’s claws! The harpy eagle is found primarily in South America, in countries like Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and northeast Argentina. The species is also found in areas of Mexico and Central America, though the populations are far smaller.
The harpy eagle is legendary, although few people have seen one in the wild. Early South American explorers named these great birds after harpies, the predatory “frightful, flying creatures with hooked beak and claws” of Greek mythology. This dark gray bird of prey has a very distinctive look, with feathers atop its head that fan into a bold crest when the bird feels threatened. Some smaller gray feathers create a facial disk that may focus sound waves to improve 
the bird’s hearing, similar to owls.
Like most eagle species, the female “harpy” is almost twice as large as the male. The harpy eagle’s legs can be as thick as a small child’s wrist, and its curved, back talons are larger than grizzly bear claws at 5 inches (13 centimeters) long. The harpy may not be the largest bird of prey (that title belongs to the Andean condor), but this extraordinary creature is definitely the heaviest and most powerful of birds.
