Harpy - a bird with a mythological name

In ancient mythology, the harpy is a creature with a bird body and an old woman's head. It was the embodiment of vicious passions. The Harpy is a bird that gets its name because of the cruelty with which it eats its prey. Being a rather large predatory bird, the harpy is carnivorous, it is an excellent hunter with a proud, even majestic look.

A harpy bird settles in the tropical forests of Central and South America. You can learn it by the characteristic plumage. Feathers of wings are black and white, head and chest are white, on the nape of a thick plumage, which at the moment of excitement rises on end. At such a moment it seems that the bird has a wreath of feathers on its head. The South American harpy still scares the locals. First, because of its size. The length of the female body reaches 100-110 cm, while the bird can weigh up to 9 kg. Secondly, because of a terrible strong beak and powerful developed paws with pointed claws. Moreover, the harpy is frightened by the observers: the bird (photo below) is cruelly cracking down on its victim. According to observations of experts, most of all predator likes to torment monkeys.

A harpy is a bird that can hover for hours over its territory, looking for monkeys, then selects a victim and grabs it. Torture begins with the harpy gouging out the victim's eyes, then tearing his throat, and then tearing it to pieces. Scientists can not unravel the phenomenon of this hatred. After all, any other prey its predator destroys instantly. The harpy often hunts smaller birds, parrots, possums, gophers and domestic sheep and pigs, but monkeys make them suffer and suffer. During the hunt, she uses her colossal vision, and in the dark, increased hearing. A stone falling from a height, this predator does not leave a chance to its victim. Even drags the livestock Harpy. The bird remains, however, inviolable, since it is sacred among Aboriginal Indians.

Despite this circumstance, the population of birds is sharply reduced. The reason is deforestation and environmental damage caused by man. In addition, after mating, only one egg appears in the masonry, the mating period is once every two years. This low fecundity is due to the large size of the harpy. The couple, formed during puberty, does not disintegrate until the end of life. Each family has a clearly delineated territory. At the highest point of the rock there is a huge nest in diameter - up to 2 meters! In it, a couple can live a lifetime, if it is not disturbed. After the appearance of the chick, the father protects the nest from strangers and hunts. The female cares carefully for the baby. Unfortunately, in captivity is very rarely observed. Known only one case, when the zoo managed to get offspring from the harpy, and that the chick soon died.

After the birth of a chick for a long time is in the nest. For any encroachment, parents react sensitively, they can even attack a person. This concern continues until the chick does not fly out of the nest. It happens at the age of 1 year, although already at 10 months the bird flies confidently. Sexual maturity occurs not earlier than in 4 years. While the population of harpies is about 2 thousand individuals. This figure is negligible, for this reason the harpy is a bird listed in the International Red Book.