save the Crowned Solitary Eagle (Harpyhaliaetus coronatus)

  • by: Frans Badenhorst
  • recipient: WWF , Governments of BOLIVIA ,, BRAZIL , PARAGUAY , ARGENTINA and URUGUAY - every Care2 member

Crowned Solitary Eagle
Harpyhaliaetus coronatus
Status: Endangered
Population Trend: Declining.
Other Names: Crowned Eagle, Crowned Solitary-eagle, Urubitornis coronatus.
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click to enlargeDistribution: Neotropical.  Eastern BOLIVIA (Santa Cruz), western PARAGUAY, and southern BRAZIL (south from Mato Grosso and Goiás to PARAGUAY and southern ARGENTINA (Mendoza and Rio Negro); formerly western URUGUAY. 
Subspecies: Monotypic.
Taxonomy: Hellmayr and Conover (1949) lumped this species with H. solitarius, but Wetmore (1965) suggested that the two species are so different that they might be better placed in separate genera. Sibley and Monroe (1990) regarded them as a superspecies, and molecular studies have confirmed that they are closely related, but not conspecific. Brown (1970) thought that Harpyhaliaetusis closely related to the harpy eagle group. However, the molecular studies of Lerner and Mindell (2005) and Amaral et al. (2006) showed they are more closely related to Buteogallus (particularly the Great Black-hawk, B. urubitinga) than to other eagles of the genera Aquila, Spizaetus, and Harpia and that this species is part of a clade formed by L. plumbeus, L. schistacea, L. lacernulatus, Buteogallus urubitinga, and B. meridionalis. The generic name Urubitornis was used by Peters 1931, Friedmann 1950, and Wetmore (1965).
Movements: Irruptive or local migrant (Bildstein 2006).
Habitat and Habits: Occurs in mostly open country, including grasslands, brushlands, savannas, and lightly wooded foothills, where it soars or perches for long periods in tall trees, on fenceposts, stakes, or even on the ground. Often occurs in pairs, at times accompanied by a juvenile. Semi-crepuscular and somewhat wary in most areas, although Ferguson-Lees and Christie (2001) mentioned that it is "approachable"). 
Food and Feeding Behavior: Feeds mostly on armadillos and other medium-sized mammals, especially skunks, medium-sized birds, lizards, and carrion of various types. 
 Breeding: The nest is a huge platform of sticks placed high in a main fork of a large tree. The clutch size is a single egg, which is white and unmarked (Sick and Texeira 1977). In Argentina, egg-laying extends from August to October, and hatching occurs in November-December (Maceda 2007). Generally, only the female incubates, and the male is present at the nest only when he is delivering food to the female. The incubation period at an Argentine nest was at least 39 or 40 days, but the nest was abandoned before hatching (Di Giacomo 2005). 
Conservation: Rare or uncommon throughout its range, suffering from habitat loss, mostly from the conversion of grasslands and open woodlands to agriculture, and shooting for various reason. The effects of agricultural pesticides on this species and other large raptors in austral South America are not well known. The available information suggests that this eagle has a very small, highly fragmented population and probably a significant and continuing decline in numbers. It is classified globally as Endangered by BirdLife International and as Endangered or Vulnerable in the individual countries and states where it occurs. 
Population Estimates: Ferguson-Lees and Christie (2001) estimated the global population (defined as the number of adults and immatures at the start of the breeding season) at over 1,000 individuals and were critical of an earlier BirdLife International estimate of a range of 2,500-10,000 individuals. The latter group now (2009) estimates the total population of mature birds at 250-999 individuals.

please sign this petition and urge the  WWF and Governments of BOLIVIA ,,  BRAZIL , PARAGUAY , ARGENTINA and URUGUAY to instate a law against hunting the Crowned Solitary Eagle (Harpyhaliaetus coronatus) - also, to study the habitat of this eagle and prevent grassland destruction for agriculture

 WWF and Governments of BOLIVIA ,,  BRAZIL , PARAGUAY , ARGENTINA and URUGUAY - please instate a law against hunting the Crowned Solitary Eagle (Harpyhaliaetus coronatus) - also, study the habitat of this eagle and prevent grassland destruction for agriculture

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