The Crowned Solitary Eagle (Harpyhaliaetus coronatus), typically known simply as the Crowned Eagle (leading to potential confusion with the African Stephanoaetus coronatus) is an endangered bird of prey

Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....

 from eastern and central South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. This is a large raptor with a length of 73-79 cm (29-31 in), a wingspan of 170-183 cm (67-72 in) and an average weight of 2.95 kg (6.5 lbs.) Adults are almost entirely gray with a large occipital crest and a short, black-and-white-banded tail. The juvenile is gray-brown on the back and pale with gray-brown streaks on the head and underside.

The Crowned Solitary Eagle lives in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

 and Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

. It tends to live in open woodland and marshland, unlike its closest relative, the Solitary Eagle

Solitary Eagle

The Montane Solitary Eagle, Harpyhaliaetus solitarius, is a large Neotropical eagle.- Range and habitat :The Montane Solitary Eagle is native to Mexico and Central and South America. It is found in mountainous or hilly forests, at elevations between 600 m & 2,200 m...

, which lives only in dense Andean forest. It is often noted for its sluggish movements during the day and is believed to be largely crepuscular

Crepuscular

Crepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight, that is during dawn and dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight." Crepuscular is, thus, in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright...

 in activity. It preys principally on mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

s, including armadillo

Armadillo

Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one"...

s, skunk

Skunk

Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...

s, weasel

Weasel

Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....

s, rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....

s and monkey

Monkey

A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...

s. It also hunts reptile

Reptile

Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...

s (principally snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

s), fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

, domestic lambs and occasionally bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

s, including tinamou

Tinamou

The tinamous are a family comprising 47 species of birds found in Central and South America. One of the most ancient living groups of bird, they are related to the ratites. Generally ground dwelling, they are found in a range of habitats....

 and poultry

Poultry

Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...

.

Found in large trees, the nest of this species is large platform of sticks about 1.2 m (3.9 ft) across and 30 cm (11.8 in) deep. One nest was noted to be in at the top of a tree that also contained a communal nest of Monk Parakeet

Monk Parakeet

The Monk Parakeet, also known as the Quaker Parrot, is a species of parrot, in most treatments the only member of the genus Myiopsitta. It originates from the temperate to subtropical areas of Argentina and the surrounding countries in South America...

s. Eggs were recorded in October and young in May but nothing more is really known about its breeding activities. This species is considered endangered by BirdLife International, mainly because it occurs at very low density and it is very seldomly encountered in the wild. It is largely threatened by habitat destruction, since its habitat has been greatly compromised by the spread of agriculture and cattle ranching. Also, hunting of these bird is believed to occur largely due to fear of livestock predation.