Harpy - Myth or Reality? Bashny.Net

Even in ancient Greek mythology were evil deity archaic tearing children and human souls. Disgusting female predatory bird species, with flowing hair and terrible claws appeared with the suddenness of the storm and just disappeared into nowhere like the wind. Actually, the word "harpy" comes from the Greek «harpazein» - «steal," "miss».
In the Middle Ages it was considered a symbol of harpies greed, gluttony and untidiness.
In heraldry image crowned eagle with spread wings and powerful clawed paws, in which a woman's breasts and head, symbolizing victory over lowly enemy. Holders of the coat of arms with the image of the harpy made it clear that they are "fierce when provoked».

6 Photo © paradoxusik via fauna_ru





Surprisingly, the first thing that comes to mind when you see the predator - if nature took the image of the mythological harpies and make it a South American bird. In fact, of course, these people draw inspiration from around the world for their fantasies.



Of all the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) - the largest bird. Wingspan predators about 2, 5 m. Larger females have harpies, their weight is 8-9 kg. The feet of birds disproportionately powerful, sharp claws. Fingers and nails these eagles seem even more from the fact that they themselves are very short legs. Other predators weapon - a powerful, flattened laterally, black beak.
Austerity harpies gives black and white, with silver stain. But most importantly, without which the image of the birds would not be complete - elongated feathers on the head, which is raised when excited harpies, showing the crown in full glory. Here are the horns of feathers on his head terrible predator look a little funny.



In nature, in the lowland tropical forests of South and Central America, harpy - one of the worst enemies of a variety of ground-based, but often, wood mammals. The most amazing thing is that they can cope not only with the agouti, sloths, anteaters and monkeys (for which they were called obezyanoedami), but even with thorny tree porcupines.
High in the trees towering over the entire forest canopy, harpy build huge nests. There is usually every two years at the harpies appears only chick who is unusually long in the nest, and parents devote the next year take care of it.
This low reproductive potential harpies on top of the human exploration of pristine forests and rash, often futile hunt with firearms, have led to the fact that the birds have become extremely rare throughout its range. Officially banned hunting of harpies, birds are included in the IUCN Red List.



Meeting with the harpies in Nuremberg left some of the most vivid impressions of your stay in the city zoo, which was decorated with heraldic emblem of female bird. A year later, I met the rarest predators in the Walsrode bird park, and a wonderful zoo in Wuppertal. Then lucky enough to see the harpies in the Berlin Tierpark Friedrichsfelde, where in 1981 the world's first managed to obtain offspring from predators.
Now, looking about, I found that the four named Zoo - the only places in Eurasia, where you can indulge in observation of the harpies. Contain these eagles in several US zoos (in some they breed) and, of course, Brazil and Colombia.



Harpy eagle in the Berlin Tierpark Friedrichsfelde (Tierpark Berlin-Friedrichsfelde)



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