The crested eagle (Morphnus guianensis) is a large Neotropical eagle. It is the only member of the genus Morphnus. The crested eagle can grow up to 89 cm (35 in) long, with a wingspan up to 176 cm (69 in), and weigh up to 3 kg (6.6 lb). The plumage varies between a light brownish-gray to sooty gray or even blackish in some cases. It has a white throat and a dark spot on the crest and a small dark mask across the eyes. It ranges extensively throughout Central and South America, but not in large numbers. favoring tropical lowland forest. A powerful predator, its diet consist mainly of small mammals, rodents, snakes and smaller birds. Despite their large distribution, they are currently classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, due mainly to habitat loss
This species is a large but slender eagle. It measures 71 to 89 cm (28 to 35 in) long and has a wingspan of 138 to 176 cm (4 ft 6 in to 5 ft 9 in). A small handful of crested eagles have been weighed and have scaled from 1.2 to 3 kg (2.6 to 6.6 lb). The average weight of crested eagles in Tikal, Guatemala was claimed to be only 1.75 kg (3.9 lb), with a male reported to weigh 1.27 kg (2.8 lb) and a handful of females 1.85 to 1.98 kg (4.1 to 4.4 lb). Standard measurements have indicated females are about 14% larger on average than males.[2][3][4]
The crested eagle has a large head, an effect enhanced by the often extended feather crest of its name. It has bare legs, with a sizable tarsus length of 10.3 to 11.2 cm (4.1 to 4.4 in). The tail is fairly long, measuring 34 to 43 cm (13 to 17 in) in length, in part accounting for the considerably low weights cited for an eagle of this size.[2][4]The wings are quite short for the eagle's size but are broad and rounded. Forest-dwelling raptors often have a relatively small wingspan in order to enable movement within the dense, twisted forest environments. The wing chord measures 42.5–48.5 cm (16.7–19.1 in). The plumage of the crested eagle is somewhat variable. The head, back and chest of most adults are light brownish-gray, with a white throat and a dark spot on the crest and a small dark mask across the eyes. There are also various dark morphs where the plumage is sooty-gray or just blackish in some cases. The distinctive juvenile crested eagle is white on the head and chest, with a marbled-gray coloration on the back and wings. They turn to a sandy-gray color in the second year of life. Dark morph juveniles are similar but are dark brownish-gray from an early age. In flight,crested eagles are all pale below except for the grayish coloration on the chest.
This species often overlaps in range with the less scarce Harpy eagle, which is likely its close relative and is somewhat similar to appearance. There is evidence of an interesting interspecific relationship between and adult Crested eagle feeding a juvenile Harpy eagle in Panama, while the adult Harpy eagles were away. During these interactions, the Crested eagle brought new nesting material to the nest and in occasions brought food to the juvenile Harpy eagle.[5]
It is sparsely distributed throughout its extensive range from northern Guatemala through Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama,[5] the subtropical Andes of Colombia, northeastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil (where it has suffered greatly from habitat destruction,[6] being now found practically only in the Amazonian basin[7]), and east Andean Ecuador, southeastern Peru, Paraguay and eastern Bolivia to north Argentina.