The Montane Solitary Eagle, Harpyhaliaetus solitarius, is a large Neotropical eagle.

Range and habitat

The Montane Solitary Eagle is native to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 and Central

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. It is found in mountainous or hilly forests, at elevations between 600 m & 2,200 m. The frequent reports from lowlands are usually misidentifications of another species, usually the Common Black Hawk

Common Black Hawk

The Common Black Hawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks and Old World vultures. It formerly included the Cuban Black Hawk as a subspecies...

 or Great Black Hawk

Great Black Hawk

The Great Black Hawk, Buteogallus urubitinga, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks and Old World vultures....

; no reports from lowlands have been confirmed. It is rare in all areas of its range and poorly known. Very little is known about its diet, other than that it appears to have often been predating large snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

s and one adult pair was seen hunting deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

 fawns. The remains of a chachalaca

Chachalaca

Chachalacas are mainly brown birds from the genus Ortalis. These cracids are found in wooded habitats in far southern United States , Mexico, and Central and South America. They are social, can be very noisy and often remain fairly common even near humans, as their relatively small size makes them...

 were noted in one nest.

Appearance

The adult Montane Solitary Eagle is uniformly dark gray, often appearing black, with white markings on the tail. It is 63–76 cm (25 to 30 inches) long, weighs 3 kg (6.6 lbs), and has a 152–188 cm (60 to 74 inch) wingspan. It appears very similar to the Common Black Hawk and Great Black Hawk

Great Black Hawk

The Great Black Hawk, Buteogallus urubitinga, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks and Old World vultures....

, but is much larger and has significantly broader wings, extending nearly to the tip of the tail. The exceptionally broad wings are one of the prime distinguishing characteristics of this species. Its body also has quite a thickset appearance.

The juvenile is mottled brown and tan, with markings around the eyes. It otherwise resembles the adult.

Relationships

Recent studies have shown that the Montane Solitary Eagle is closely related to the black-hawks. Therefore, it may not merit a separate genus.