Haast's Eagle
Encyclopedia
Haast's Eagle was a species of massive eagle
s that once lived on the South Island
of New Zealand
. The species was the largest eagle known to have existed. Its prey consisted mainly of gigantic flightless birds that were unable to defend themselves from the striking force and speed of these eagles, which at times reached 80 km/h (49.7 mph). The Haast's Eagle became extinct
about 1400, when its major food sources, the moa
, were hunted to extinction by humans living on the island and much of its dense-forest habitat was cleared.
It is believed that these birds are described in many legends of the Māori
, under the names Pouakai, Hokioi, or Hakawai
. However, it has been ascertained that the "Hakawai
" and "Hokioi" legends refer to the Coenocorypha
snipe – in particular the extinct South Island subspecies. According to an account given to Sir George Grey, an early governor of New Zealand, Hokioi were huge black-and-white predators with a red crest and yellow-green tinged wingtips. In some Māori legends, Pouakai kill humans, which scientists believe could have been possible if the name relates to the eagle, given the massive size and strength of the bird.
, slightly larger even than the largest living vulture
s. Female eagles are significantly larger than males. Females of the Haast species are believed to have weighed 10 kilogram and males 9 kilogram. They had a relatively short wingspan, measuring roughly 2.6 metre. This wingspan is similar to that of some extant eagles (the wingspan now reported in large specimens of Golden Eagle
s and Steller's Sea Eagle
s). Even the largest extant eagles, however, are about forty percent smaller in body size than the size of Haast's Eagles.
Short wings may have aided Haast's Eagles when hunting in the dense scrubland and forest
s of New Zealand. Haast's Eagle sometimes is portrayed incorrectly as having evolved toward flightlessness
, but this is not so; rather it represents a departure from the mode of its ancestors' soaring flight
, toward higher wing loading
. Two of the largest extant eagles, the Harpy Eagle and the Philippine Eagle
, also have similarly reduced relative wing-length in adaptation to forest-dwelling.
The strong legs and massive flight muscles of these eagles would have enabled the birds to take off with a jumping start from the ground, despite their great weight. The tail was almost certainly long, up to 50 cm (20 inches) in female specimens, and very broad. This characteristic would compensate for the reduction in wing area by providing additional lift. Total length is estimated to have been up to 1.4 metre in females, with a standing height of approximately 90 centimetre tall or perhaps slightly greater.
Haast's Eagles preyed on large, flightless bird species, including the moa
, which was up to fifteen times the weight of the eagle. It is estimated to have attacked at speeds up to 80 km/h (49.7 mph), often seizing its prey's pelvis
with the talons
of one foot and killing with a blow to the head or neck with the other. Its size and weight indicate a bodily striking force equivalent to a cinder block falling from the top of an eight-story building. Its large beak also could be used to rip into the internal organs of its prey and death then would have been caused by blood loss. In the absence of other large predators or scavenger
s, a Haast's Eagle easily could have monopolised a single large kill over a number of days.
settlers in New Zealand (the Māori arrived around 1280) preyed heavily on large flightless birds, including all moa
species, eventually hunting them to extinction. The loss of its natural prey caused the Haast's Eagle to become extinct as well around 1400, when the last of its natural food sources were depleted.
A noted explorer, Charles Edward Douglas, claims in his journals that he had an encounter with two raptor
s of immense size in Landsborough River
valley (probably during the 1870s), and that he shot and ate them. These birds might have been a last remnant of the species, but some might argue that there had not been suitable prey for a population of Haast's Eagle to maintain itself for about five hundred years before that date, and 19th century Māori lore was adamant that the pouakai was a bird not seen in living memory. Still, Douglas' observations on wildlife generally are trustworthy; a more probable explanation, given that the alleged three-metre wingspan described by Douglas is likely to have been a rough estimate, is that the birds were Eyles' Harrier
s. This was the largest known harrier
(the size of a small eagle) — and a generalist predator — and although it also is assumed to have become extinct in prehistoric times, its dietary habits alone make it a more likely candidate for late survival.
Until recent human colonisation that introduced rodents and cats, the only mammal
s found on the islands of New Zealand were three species of bat
, one of which recently has become extinct. Free from terrestrial mammalian competition and predatory threat, birds occupied or dominated all major niche
s in the New Zealand animal ecology
because there were no threats to their eggs and chicks by small terrestrial animals. Moa were grazers, functionally similar to deer
or cattle
in other habitats, and Haast's Eagles were the hunters who filled the same niche as top-niche
mammalian predators, such as tiger
s or lion
s.
has shown that this raptor is related most closely to the much smaller Little Eagle
as well as the Booted Eagle
(both of these two species were recently reclassified as belonging to the genus
Aquila
) and not, as previously thought, to the large Wedge-tailed Eagle
. Thus, Harpagornis moorei may be reclassified as Aquila moorei, pending confirmation. H. moorei may have diverged from these smaller eagles as recently as 700,000 to 1.8 million years ago. Its increase in weight by ten to fifteen times over that period is the greatest and quickest evolution
ary increase in weight of any known vertebrate
. This was made possible in part by the presence of large prey and the absence of competition from other large predators .
in the 1870s, who named it Harpagornis moorei after George Henry Moore
, the owner of the Glenmark Estate where bones of the bird had been found.
The genus name is a compound crassis word of the Latin word "harpax
," meaning "grappling hook," and the Greek "ornis," meaning bird.
's Heritage & Art Park at Macraes
, Otago
, New Zealand. The sculpture, weighing approximately 750 kg (1,653.5 lb; 118.1 st), standing 7.5 metres (24.6 ft) tall, and depicted with a wingspan of 11.5 metres (37.7 ft) is constructed from stainless steel tube and sheet and was designed and constructed by Mark Hill, a sculptor from Arrowtown, New Zealand.
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s that once lived on the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The species was the largest eagle known to have existed. Its prey consisted mainly of gigantic flightless birds that were unable to defend themselves from the striking force and speed of these eagles, which at times reached 80 km/h (49.7 mph). The Haast's Eagle became extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
about 1400, when its major food sources, the moa
Moa
The moa were eleven species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about ....
, were hunted to extinction by humans living on the island and much of its dense-forest habitat was cleared.
Maori Legendry
Maori mythology
Māori mythology and Māori traditions are the two major categories into which the legends of the Māori of New Zealand may usefully be divided...
, under the names Pouakai, Hokioi, or Hakawai
Hakawai
Hakawai, also pronounced and spelt Hokioi in the North Island, with various similar, slightly variant spellings, was the name given by New Zealand Māori people to a mythological bird that was sometimes heard but not usually seen...
. However, it has been ascertained that the "Hakawai
Hakawai
Hakawai, also pronounced and spelt Hokioi in the North Island, with various similar, slightly variant spellings, was the name given by New Zealand Māori people to a mythological bird that was sometimes heard but not usually seen...
" and "Hokioi" legends refer to the Coenocorypha
Coenocorypha
Coenocorypha is a genus of tiny birds in the sandpiper family, also known as the New Zealand snipes, which are now only found on New Zealand's outlying islands. There are currently six extinct species and three living species, with the Subantarctic Snipe having three subspecies, including the...
snipe – in particular the extinct South Island subspecies. According to an account given to Sir George Grey, an early governor of New Zealand, Hokioi were huge black-and-white predators with a red crest and yellow-green tinged wingtips. In some Māori legends, Pouakai kill humans, which scientists believe could have been possible if the name relates to the eagle, given the massive size and strength of the bird.
Size and habits
Haast's Eagles were the largest known true raptorsAccipitriformes
The Accipitriformes is an order that has been proposed to include most of the diurnal birds of prey: hawks, eagles, vultures, and many others, about 225 species in all. For a long time, the majority view has been to include them with the falcons in the Falconiformes, but some authorities have...
, slightly larger even than the largest living vulture
Old World vulture
Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, buzzards, kites, and hawks.Old World vultures are not closely related to the superficially similar New World vultures and condors, and do not share that group's good sense of smell. The similarities between the two...
s. Female eagles are significantly larger than males. Females of the Haast species are believed to have weighed 10 kilogram and males 9 kilogram. They had a relatively short wingspan, measuring roughly 2.6 metre. This wingspan is similar to that of some extant eagles (the wingspan now reported in large specimens of Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
s and Steller's Sea Eagle
Steller's Sea Eagle
The Steller's Sea Eagle, Haliaeetus pelagicus, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It lives in coastal northeastern Asia and mainly preys on fish. It is, on average, the heaviest eagle in the world, at about , but often lags behind the Harpy Eagle and Philippine Eagle in other...
s). Even the largest extant eagles, however, are about forty percent smaller in body size than the size of Haast's Eagles.
Short wings may have aided Haast's Eagles when hunting in the dense scrubland and forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s of New Zealand. Haast's Eagle sometimes is portrayed incorrectly as having evolved toward flightlessness
Flightless bird
Flightless birds are birds which lack the ability to fly, relying instead on their ability to run or swim. They are thought to have evolved from flying ancestors. There are about forty species in existence today, the best known being the ostrich, emu, cassowary, rhea, kiwi, and penguin...
, but this is not so; rather it represents a departure from the mode of its ancestors' soaring flight
Bird flight
Flight is the main mode of locomotion used by most of the world's bird species. Flight assists birds while feeding, breeding and avoiding predators....
, toward higher wing loading
Wing loading
In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. The faster an aircraft flies, the more lift is produced by each unit area of wing, so a smaller wing can carry the same weight in level flight, operating at a higher wing loading. Correspondingly,...
. Two of the largest extant eagles, the Harpy Eagle and the Philippine Eagle
Philippine Eagle
The Philippine Eagle , also known as the Monkey-eating Eagle, is an eagle of the family Accipitridae that is endemic to forests in the Philippines. It has brown and white-coloured plumage, and a shaggy crest, and generally measures in length and weighs...
, also have similarly reduced relative wing-length in adaptation to forest-dwelling.
The strong legs and massive flight muscles of these eagles would have enabled the birds to take off with a jumping start from the ground, despite their great weight. The tail was almost certainly long, up to 50 cm (20 inches) in female specimens, and very broad. This characteristic would compensate for the reduction in wing area by providing additional lift. Total length is estimated to have been up to 1.4 metre in females, with a standing height of approximately 90 centimetre tall or perhaps slightly greater.
Haast's Eagles preyed on large, flightless bird species, including the moa
Moa
The moa were eleven species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about ....
, which was up to fifteen times the weight of the eagle. It is estimated to have attacked at speeds up to 80 km/h (49.7 mph), often seizing its prey's pelvis
Pelvis
In human anatomy, the pelvis is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the lower limbs .The pelvis includes several structures:...
with the talons
Claw
A claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most mammals, birds, and some reptiles. However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end...
of one foot and killing with a blow to the head or neck with the other. Its size and weight indicate a bodily striking force equivalent to a cinder block falling from the top of an eight-story building. Its large beak also could be used to rip into the internal organs of its prey and death then would have been caused by blood loss. In the absence of other large predators or scavenger
Scavenger
Scavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which individual scavengers search out dead animal and dead plant biomass on which to feed. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by...
s, a Haast's Eagle easily could have monopolised a single large kill over a number of days.
Extinction
Early humanHuman
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
settlers in New Zealand (the Māori arrived around 1280) preyed heavily on large flightless birds, including all moa
Moa
The moa were eleven species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about ....
species, eventually hunting them to extinction. The loss of its natural prey caused the Haast's Eagle to become extinct as well around 1400, when the last of its natural food sources were depleted.
A noted explorer, Charles Edward Douglas, claims in his journals that he had an encounter with two raptor
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....
s of immense size in Landsborough River
Landsborough River
The Landsborough River is located in New Zealand's South Island. A major tributary of the Haast River, it flows southwest, parallel with the Southern Alps, for 50 kilometres from its source five kilometres north of Mount Hopkins to meet the Haast 12 kilometres below the Haast Pass.In April 2005 the...
valley (probably during the 1870s), and that he shot and ate them. These birds might have been a last remnant of the species, but some might argue that there had not been suitable prey for a population of Haast's Eagle to maintain itself for about five hundred years before that date, and 19th century Māori lore was adamant that the pouakai was a bird not seen in living memory. Still, Douglas' observations on wildlife generally are trustworthy; a more probable explanation, given that the alleged three-metre wingspan described by Douglas is likely to have been a rough estimate, is that the birds were Eyles' Harrier
Eyles' Harrier
Eyles' Harrier is an extinct bird of prey which lived in New Zealand.It was an example of island gigantism, weighing over twice as much as a Swamp Harrier. It was a generalist predator, taking prey of the same size as small eagle species do – land animals weighing one or a few kilograms...
s. This was the largest known harrier
Harrier (bird)
A harrier is any of the several species of diurnal hawks forming the Circinae sub-family of the Accipitridae family of birds of prey. Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds....
(the size of a small eagle) — and a generalist predator — and although it also is assumed to have become extinct in prehistoric times, its dietary habits alone make it a more likely candidate for late survival.
Until recent human colonisation that introduced rodents and cats, the only 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 found on the islands of New Zealand were three species of bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
, one of which recently has become extinct. Free from terrestrial mammalian competition and predatory threat, birds occupied or dominated all major niche
Ecological niche
In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other; e.g. a dolphin could potentially be in another ecological niche from one that travels in a different pod if the members of these pods utilize significantly different food...
s in the New Zealand animal ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
because there were no threats to their eggs and chicks by small terrestrial animals. Moa were grazers, functionally similar to deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
or cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
in other habitats, and Haast's Eagles were the hunters who filled the same niche as top-niche
Apex predator
Apex predators are predators that have no predators of their own, residing at the top of their food chain. Zoologists define predation as the killing and consumption of another organism...
mammalian predators, such as tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s or lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s.
Classification
DNA analysisGenetic fingerprinting
DNA profiling is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles. DNA profiles are encrypted sets of numbers that reflect a person's DNA makeup, which can also be used as the person's identifier...
has shown that this raptor is related most closely to the much smaller Little Eagle
Little Eagle
The Little Eagle is a very small eagle native to Australasia, measuring 45–55 cm in length and weighing 815 g – roughly the size of a Peregrine Falcon. It tends to inhabit open woodland, grassland and arid regions, shunning dense forest...
as well as the Booted Eagle
Booted Eagle
The Booted Eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey. It is about in length and has a wingspan of . Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae....
(both of these two species were recently reclassified as belonging to the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Aquila
Aquila (genus)
Aquila is the genus of true eagles. It is often united with the buteos, sea eagles and other more heavyset Accipitridae, but more recently it appears as if they are less distinct from the more slender accipitrine hawks than believed...
) and not, as previously thought, to the large Wedge-tailed Eagle
Wedge-tailed Eagle
The Wedge-tailed Eagle , sometimes known as the Eaglehawk in its native range, is the largest bird of prey in Australia, but it is also found in southern New Guinea. It has long, fairly broad wings, fully feathered legs, and an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail...
. Thus, Harpagornis moorei may be reclassified as Aquila moorei, pending confirmation. H. moorei may have diverged from these smaller eagles as recently as 700,000 to 1.8 million years ago. Its increase in weight by ten to fifteen times over that period is the greatest and quickest evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
ary increase in weight of any known vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
. This was made possible in part by the presence of large prey and the absence of competition from other large predators .
Etymology
Haast's Eagle was first classified by Julius von HaastJulius von Haast
Sir Johann Franz "Julius" von Haast was a German geologist. He founded Canterbury Museum at Christchurch.-Biography:...
in the 1870s, who named it Harpagornis moorei after George Henry Moore
George Henry Moore
George Henry Moore was an Irish politician who served as Member of Parliament for Mayo in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. He was one of the founders of the Catholic Defence Association and a leader of the Independent Irish Party. He was also father of the writer George A. Moore and the...
, the owner of the Glenmark Estate where bones of the bird had been found.
The genus name is a compound crassis word of the Latin word "harpax
Harpax
The harpax or harpago was a Roman catapult-shot grapnel created by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa for use against Sextus Pompey during the naval battles of the Sicilian revolt...
," meaning "grappling hook," and the Greek "ornis," meaning bird.
In art
Artwork depicting Haast's Eagle now may be viewed at OceanaGoldOceanaGold
OceanaGold Corporation OceanaGold is a significant Asia Pacific gold producer, with a portfolio of operating, development and exploration assets. Assets are located on the South Island of New Zealand and in northern Philippines...
's Heritage & Art Park at Macraes
Macraes Mine
Macraes Mine, in East Otago is New Zealand's largest gold mine, owned by OceanaGold Corporation, which consists of a large scale opencast mine. It is situated close to the settlement of Macraes Flat....
, Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
, New Zealand. The sculpture, weighing approximately 750 kg (1,653.5 lb; 118.1 st), standing 7.5 metres (24.6 ft) tall, and depicted with a wingspan of 11.5 metres (37.7 ft) is constructed from stainless steel tube and sheet and was designed and constructed by Mark Hill, a sculptor from Arrowtown, New Zealand.