🦉 Great horned owl vs Harpy eagle 🦅
The harpy eagle is about twice as long as the great horned owl. The harpy eagle weighs about 5 times as much as the great horned owl.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦉 Great horned owl | 🦅 Harpy eagle |
|---|---|---|
| Size The harpy eagle is about twice as long as the great horned owl. | 18 to 25 in46 to 63 cm1 | 35 in to 3.3 ft89 cm to 1 m2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The harpy eagle weighs about 5 times as much as the great horned owl. | 2.2 to 3.8 lb998 g to 1.7 kg3 | 11 to 20 lb5 to 9 kg2 |
| Lives The harpy eagle usually lives about twice as long as the great horned owl. | 13 to 15 years13 to 15 years3 | 25 to 35 years25 to 35 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks | sloths and monkeys, and sometimes lizards and birds |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South America | the treetops of tropical lowland rainforest from southern Mexico to northern Argentina |
Which one? Great horned owl or harpy eagle
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the great horned owl or the harpy eagle yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
10 things to know about Great horned owl vs Harpy eagle
- The great horned owl: Its "horns" are just feathers, and it can turn its head far around.
- The harpy eagle: A huge gray rainforest eagle with a crest on its head.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are birds.
- The harpy eagle is about twice as long as the great horned owl: 2 against 1.
- The harpy eagle weighs about 5 times as much as the great horned owl. That is 3 for the great horned owl and 2 for the harpy eagle.
- The harpy eagle usually lives about twice as long as the great horned owl. Usual lifespans: 3 for the great horned owl and 2 for the harpy eagle.
- Both eat meat. The great horned owl eats mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks; the harpy eagle eats sloths and monkeys, and sometimes lizards and birds.
- The great horned owl lives in forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South America. The harpy eagle lives in the treetops of tropical lowland rainforest from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
- The great horned owl: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
- The harpy eagle: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 5
Wow facts
🦉 Great horned owl
- Its wings make almost no sound.
- It coughs up a pellet of fur and bones after a meal.
- It often nests in an old nest that a hawk or crow built.
🦅 Harpy eagle
- A harpy eagle lives high in the rainforest treetops.
- Its main foods are sloths and monkeys.
- It has a crest of feathers on its head.
Questions kids ask about Great horned owl and Harpy eagle
Which is bigger, great horned owl or harpy eagle?
The harpy eagle is about twice as long as the great horned owl: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, great horned owl or harpy eagle?
The harpy eagle weighs about 5 times as much as the great horned owl. That is 3 for the great horned owl and 2 for the harpy eagle.
Which lives longer, great horned owl or harpy eagle?
The harpy eagle usually lives about twice as long as the great horned owl. Usual lifespans: 3 for the great horned owl and 2 for the harpy eagle.
What do great horned owl and harpy eagle eat?
Both eat meat. The great horned owl eats mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks; the harpy eagle eats sloths and monkeys, and sometimes lizards and birds.
Where do great horned owl and harpy eagle live?
The great horned owl lives in forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South America. The harpy eagle lives in the treetops of tropical lowland rainforest from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
Who would win, great horned owl or harpy eagle?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/great-horned-owl-vs-harpy-eagle
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Bryce Canyon, checked 30 October 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Harpia harpyja (harpy eagle), checked 10 November 2026.
- National Park Service, Golden Spike, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.