Haast's Eagle hunted like an eagle, ate like a condor

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Michael Szabo
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Haast's Eagle hunted like an eagle, ate like a condor

Postby Michael Szabo » Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:27 pm

Aotearoa's now extinct Haast’s Eagle or Pouākai, hunted like an eagle, ate like a vulture, and may have had a bald head, new research published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. suggests.

Dr Paul Scofield, Canterbury Museum’s Senior Curator Human History and a member of the international research team, says most eagles hunt prey that is smaller than them, but Haast’s Eagle was going after giant moa that could weigh up to 200 kg – more than 13 times their own body weight.

"[South American] Condors also often eat animals that are much larger than them, so it makes sense that they’d have similar feeding habits."

“As a result of this research, when we picture a Haast’s Eagle feeding we can imagine them swooping down on a moa, grabbing on with those huge talons and using its powerful beak to deliver the killing blow. Once the moa was down, the eagle would go straight for the back of the skull and for the guts and other soft organs.”

Image: Artist's impression of Haast's Eagle by Katrina Kenny.

Link to paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/ ... .2021.1913

Link to RNZ news story: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/456 ... -N7IxvTbtE
Haast's eagle artists impression.jpg
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