People tend to consider cruel and daring only those animals that bring visible damage and live in close proximity to humans. It is customary to be afraid of forest predators, stray dogs, birds, some of which are distinguished by a particularly cruel disposition, for some reason fall out of sight.
There are a lot of predators among the birds. The most dangerous are eagles, golden eagles, eagles, falcons and vultures. They can circle for hours in search of their prey or chase it for a long time until they get to their prey. However, the harpy is recognized as the most dangerous and frightening bird among the feathered family.
Flying wolf
The harpy comes from the jungle hawk family. Today this bird is considered the largest winged predator. By body weight, these birds can reach 10-12 kg, and the male always weighs a couple of kilograms less than the female.
The wingspan of the harpy is 2 meters.
Although there are birds that surpass the harpy in body size, none of them can boast of such tenacity, power and sharpness of claws. This allows the feathered predator to fly up high with its prey and carry it in its claws for long distances. Harpy claws can grow 8-13 cm in length.
These birds have light gray plumage on the head and dark plumage on the back and neck. At the sight of danger and during the hunt, harpies raise their crest, inflating it in the form of a hood. However, they take on a very frightening look. Harpies nest on the upper branches of dense deciduous trees in tropical rainforests. The diameter of the nest reaches one and a half meters.
The harpy can climb 900 - 2,000 meters into the sky.
The feathered predator has such powerful paws that it crushes the bones of the victim. All this, coupled with keen eyesight, which allows the bird to track down its prey at a distance of up to 200 meters, as well as a flight speed of up to 80 km per hour, elevates the harpy to the rank of the most dangerous predators. No wonder she was nicknamed the flying wolf. The harpy not only catches prey, it brutally deals with it, often pulling out the trachea so that the victim slowly dies over several hours. This behavior is justified, the harpy manages to bring warm, still live food to the nest during this time.
Harpy harvest
This bird is capable of killing an animal exceeding it in body weight. Basically, these predators hunt monkeys and sloths, which is why they got their second nickname - monkey-eaters. Harpies also eat possums, agouti, arboreal porcupines, anteaters and armadillos, despite their tough protective shell.
The birds do not disdain hunting dogs, pigs, snakes and lizards. Harpies also hunt their fellows. So, their diet includes toucans and macaw parrots. Harpies never miss their prey; they cannot escape from it, let alone hide. That is why she is so scary and dangerous. These birds do not even have enemies, therefore, there are no hunters for them, and therefore they occupy the highest link in the food eco-chain.
