The Philippine eagle lives only in the Philippines, and it is the national bird there. 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. It used to be called the monkey-eating eagle. As of November 2026, about 400 pairs are estimated to be left in the wild, and the eagle is listed as Critically Endangered. An estimate is a careful guess, not a count of every bird.

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. The young eagle stays with its parents for more than a year. Philippine eagles can live up to about 40 years in captivity, and probably much less in the wild.

Losing forest is the biggest danger to Philippine eagles. As of November 2026, cutting down forests and trapping or shooting eagles still threaten the eagle. A program to save the Philippine eagle began in 1969. Rescued eagles are cared for and set free again when they are healthy. Scientists follow some Philippine eagles with GPS or satellite trackers. As of November 2026, eagles from Mindanao have been released on Leyte to bring Philippine eagles back to the island.

Now look at the eagle at home in the forest. It hunts animals such as flying squirrels and monkeys. It also eats birds, snakes and lizards. You may have heard that it eats only monkeys. In fact, it hunts many kinds of animals. Philippine eagle pairs sometimes hunt together as a team. 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
• captivity: care by people
• rescued: helped and saved
• trackers: devices that follow
• released: set free