The Philippine eagle used to be called the monkey-eating eagle. It is the same bird. It lives only in the Philippines. It is the national bird there. It lives in forests. It lives on only four islands: Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao.

Let us look at its size. This eagle is one of the largest eagles in the world. It can stand about three feet (1 meter) tall. Adults weigh about 10 to 18 pounds (4.5 to 8.1 kilograms). Its wings stretch about 6.5 feet (1.9 meters) from tip to tip.

Look at its face. It has a big, curved beak. It has blue-gray eyes. It hunts animals such as flying squirrels and monkeys. It also eats birds, snakes and lizards. So the old name does not tell the whole story.

This eagle is very rare. As of November 2026, it is listed as Critically Endangered. A mother eagle lays only one egg at a time. She lays it about every two years. The egg takes about two months to hatch. The nest is a huge pile of sticks high in a tree.

Words to know

• rare: very few
• nest: bird home
• wings: for flying
• hatch: come out
• weigh: have a weight