The Philippine eagle lives only in the Philippines, where it is the national bird. It lives in forests on four islands: Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao. It is one of the largest eagles in the world. Its wings stretch about 6.5 feet (1.9 meters) from tip to tip. Adults weigh about 10 to 18 pounds (4.5 to 8.1 kilograms). The eagle used to be called the monkey-eating eagle.

As of November 2026, about 400 pairs of Philippine eagles are estimated to be left in the wild. An estimate is a careful guess, and it is not a count of every bird. The eagle is listed as Critically Endangered. You may have heard that it is a common bird. In fact, it is very rare. Losing forest is the biggest danger to Philippine eagles. Rescued eagles are cared for and set free again when they are healthy.

Look at how the eagle family grows. A mother lays only one egg at a time, about every two years. The egg takes about two months to hatch. Both parents take turns sitting on the egg. At first, the father does most of the hunting and the mother does most of the feeding. A pair usually raises just one young eagle every two years. A young eagle stays with its parents for more than a year.

In the forest, the eagle hunts animals such as flying squirrels and monkeys. It also eats birds, snakes and lizards. Philippine eagle pairs sometimes hunt together as a team. Philippine eagles can live up to about 40 years in captivity, and probably much less in the wild. A Philippine eagle builds a huge nest of sticks high in a tree. It nests in giant dipterocarp trees such as lauan.

Words to know

• estimated: a careful guess
• rare: very few
• captivity: care by people
• rescued: helped and saved
• dipterocarp: a giant tree