Unfortunately, it is simply impossible to say unequivocally which is the strongest bird in the world. According to the same principle that an elephant that raises logs in the proportions of its body is much weaker than an ant that picks up a straw. So large birds of prey, varying in size, have a different nature, prey on more or less large prey. But you can make the TOP of the most powerful birds in the world, in which to list representatives who are able to claim this title.
Battle eagle
This beautiful proud bird in Latin is called Polemaetus bellicosus. It lives only in South Africa, with each pair occupying a vast territory - at least 1 thousand km 2 . The minimum distance between the nests is 50 kilometers. So, we can confidently say that these birds have the lowest population density in the world.
Their belly is white, while the back is dark brown, almost black. The wingspan is really impressive - up to 230 centimeters. Females are noticeably larger than males - their weight often reaches 5-5.5 kg, while in males the average weight ranges from 4 to 4.5 kg. However, a relatively small weight (only one and a half to two times larger than an adult egg-laying chicken) does not at all prevent a martial eagle from possessing extraordinary strength. He preys on monitor lizards, snakes, lizards, as well as dogs and even sheep and antelopes. So, if he is not the strongest bird of prey in the world, then he is certainly one of them.
A laid egg weighs about 200 grams. The female hatches him for about 42-50 days. At the age of 3 months, the chick makes the first attempts to take off, but he is considered to be fully grown up only at 6 months - he overgrows with strong feathers and leaves his father's house.
Steller's sea eagle
Like the martial eagle, the Steller's sea eagle or Haliaeetus pelagicus is part of the hawk family. It lives in Northeast Asia, mainly in the Far East - outside of Russia it can be seen only in winter. And this is a real giant - its weight can reach 9 kilograms. Of course, with such a weight it would be strange if he was not included in the list of the most powerful birds in the world. His legs, tail and forearms are snow-white, and the rest of the body is covered with dark brown feathers.
These birds are not too picky in their food - they eat rabbits, fish, Arctic foxes, young seals, as well as any large fish that they catch with equal pleasure. It is a large number of fish in the diet that leads to the fact that the Steller's sea eagle settles only near the sea - no further than 80 kilometers from the coast.
Having built a nest, he prefers to breed eggs only in it. To do this, selects inaccessible places in the rocks. Lays most often 2 eggs - rarely 1 or 3. One of the few birds that remembers their chicks and when meeting with them does not get involved in a fight, does not try to kill.
Due to its high weight, it spends very little time in the air - no more than 30 minutes a day.
Striped fish owl
But Scotopelia peli, unlike previous birds, is part of the owl family. Alas, she lives only in Namibia, and even a little more than 100 individuals remain there - it is possible that soon the birds will simply die out completely.
Its dimensions are small - with a wingspan of 150 centimeters the bird weighs no more than 2.3 kg. However, this does not stop her from catching prey weighing 2 kg or more. And not only to catch, but also to carry over a considerable distance. Few predators can boast that they can carry prey, the weight of which is almost equal to their own. Speaking of production. Striped fish owls feed, as the name implies, with fish. But they will not refuse frogs, shrimps, oysters and even young crocodiles.
They live on the coast of rivers, so as not to fly far for food. They do not build nests themselves, preferring to occupy the abandoned nests of other large birds, for example, hammerheads. Having chosen a nest, a pair of owls (they are monogamous) visits it every two years to lay two eggs. After 32-38 days, the chicks hatch. However, birds feed only the larger of them - the second just dies of hunger. Alas, they can’t feed both voracious young owls at once.
The chick fledges already at the age of 2 months, at 4 months it flies freely, but it does not fly away from its parents' nest for about a year. He finds a couple only in two years.
Golden eagle
Also known as Aquila chrysaetos. It is one of the largest representatives of the hawk family, due to its wingspan of up to 240 cm and weight of up to 7 kg. True, the males are noticeably smaller - no more than 5 kg.
In flight, they reach speeds of up to 320 km / h, which, combined with amazing vision, leaves the victim no chance. That is why people from ancient times tamed some of them, used on the hunt.
The color is usually brown - in various shades. It lives in almost all countries of the northern hemisphere - from Japan in the east to Alaska in the west. But the population density is very low, therefore it cannot be said that there are too many of these birds in nature. The diet adjusts to the local fauna, eating rabbits, hares, turtles, skunks, marmots, as well as sheep, chamois, roe deer, red deer.
South American Harpy
Of course, if you look at what is the most powerful bird in the world, then you can not say about the South American harpy or Harpia harpyja. It lives in Mexico, Brazil and some small countries located between them. The wingspan of females reaches 2 meters, and weight - 9 kg. And in this species, males are much smaller - less than 5 kg.
The color is uneven. The head is light gray, a white belly, a wide dark gray collar, the back and wings are also dark gray, and on the legs light feathers alternate with dark ones.
It feeds on various small and medium animals: anteaters, armadillos, sloths, monkeys, snakes, as well as many birds.
Nests twist on trees from thick sticks at a high altitude of 50 meters and above. They lay one egg in two years, but carefully take care of it. Although at 8 months old the chick flies well and can hunt, his parents feed him up to a year so that he grows stronger.
Some more birds
Of course, it is impossible to describe all strong birds in one article. But if you make a rating of the strongest birds in the world, the TOP-10 would be worth replenishing with the following individuals:
- Philippine eagle.
- Bird bearded.
- African eared vulture.
- Eurasian Eagle Owl.
- Crowned Eagle.
All of them have huge wings, remarkable strength and a rather non-living character.
Conclusion
This concludes our article. In it, we tried to talk about the most powerful birds of prey living in different countries of the world. You also learned about the features of their reproduction, habits, lifestyle.