Eagles facts

It was taken over from the Byzantine Empire. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Moscow claimed succession to the legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire. Ivan III married Sophia Palaiologina, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, and made the Byzantine double-headed eagle his own, and eventually Russian, coat-of-arms. In Byzantine heraldry, the heads represent the Emperor having authority over both secular and religious matters.

Harpy eagle. Female harpy eagles typically weigh 6 to 9 kg (13 to 20 lb). An exceptionally large captive female, "Jezebel", weighed 12.3 kg (27 lb). The bald eagle, the national bird of the United States of America, weighs up to 6.3 kg (13.9 lb).

Sloths. Research conducted in a nesting site in Brazil concluded that the harpy's prey basis was composed in 79% by sloths. In a similar research venture in Panama, 53% of captures were sloths.

New Zealand. The Haast's eagle is an extinct species of eagle that once lived in the South Island of New Zealand. Its massive size is explained as an evolutionary response to the size of its prey, the flightless moa, the largest of which could weigh 230 kg. Haast's eagle became extinct around 1400, after the moa were hunted to extinction by the first Māori.

In Central and South America. The harpy eagle is found from south Mexico to north Argentina, most commonly in Brazil. It is rare throughout its range and difficult to see, as it inhabits the canopy of rainforest.

Harpy eagle. The harpy eagle was first described by Linnaeus in 1758 as Vultur harpyja, after the harpies of Ancient Greek mythology. These were wind spirits that took the dead to Hades, and were said to have a body like an eagle and the face of a human.

220 - 240 cm. White-tailed eagle is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which includes other raptors such as hawks, kites, and harriers. Its wingspan is up to 240 centimetres.