In most journals, John Whitehead (1860-99), an English naturalist who explored the Philippines (1893-96) has been credited as the discoverer of the Philippine eagle in Balong, Samar in 1896. It was named monkey-eating eagle after residents reported that the bird preyed exclusively on monkeys. In honor of his father, the fowl was scientifically named Pithecophaga jefferyi.
The Philippine eagle, the country’s national bird, was first described by Scottish ornithologist William Robert Ogilvie-Grant (1863-1924) in the 1896 edition of the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, and the following year was later explained in greater detail in the 1987 issue of the magazine Ibis.
But the first specimen received by the United States National Museum was an eagle’s skin sent around 1904 by Fletcher L. Keller, a hemp planter in Davao and a member of the Philippine Scientific Association, referring to the noble flyer as “perhaps the most remarkable bird which has been discovered in the Philippines.”
Ogilvie-Grant, who got his male specimen from Samar and identified the eagle as a close relative of the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja), wrote: “The discovery of this mighty bird of prey is without doubt the most remarkable of Mr. Whitehead’ achievements in the Philippine Islands. That so large a Raptor should have remained unknown till the present time shows how easily these great Forest-Eagles may be overlooked.”
Based on measurements done by Whitehead, the first specimen weight anywhere between 16 and 20 lbs., and the bird was characterized “by extreme narrowness and very great depth; and the high vaulted narial opening is also a peculiar character. The naked tarsi and feet resemble those of the Harpy Eagle although considerably weaker. The wings are short and the tail very long, which is just the reverse of the common Eagle of the Islands (Pontoactus leucogasster).”
In his Hand-List of the Genera and Species of Birds, Richard Bowdler Sharpe (1847-1909), an English zoologist and ornithologist, placed the Philippine eagle between the short-toed eagles (Circaetus) and the serpent-eagles (Spilornis). The Philippine eagle is described as follows:
“It has brown and white-colored plumage, and a shaggy crest, and generally measures 86-102 cm (2.82-3.35 ft) in length and weighs 4.7-8.0 kgs (10.4-17.6 lb). It is considered the largest of the extant eagles in the world in terms of length and wing surface, with the Steller’s sea eagle and the harpy eagle being larger in terms of weight and bulk… It is critically endangered, mainly due to massive loss of habitat due to deforestation in most of its range.”
The bird’s staple food includes monkeys, civets, flying lemurs, large birds, giant cloud rat, reptiles such as large snakes and monitor lizards, small dogs and pigs. On record, according to the Threatened Birds of Asia, its largest prey was a 30-lb Cervus deer, a mature female macaque, and a large python.
American aviator Charles Lindbergh, known for his 1927 Atlantic crossing on an airplane, called the bird as “the sky’s noblest flyer.” As an agent of the World Wildlife fund, he visited the country several times to convince the government to protect the eagle. Eventually, his effort led to the founding of a conservation project. In 1992, the first eagles were born in captivity through artificial insemination; seven years later, the first naturally bred eaglet was hatched.
The eagle soared highest when on July 4, 1995 President Fidel V. Ramos signed Proclamation No. 615, declaring the Philippine eagle as the national bird of the Philippines.
The edict states the bird “is the best biological indicator of the quality of our forest ecosystems and is the flagship species in the conservation of Philippine wildlife… a natural treasure found only in the Philippines and as such has become a source of national pride… whose uniqueness, strength, power, and love for freedom, exemplifies the Filipino people.. [and] offers immense ecological, aesthetic, educational, historical, recreational and scientific value to the Philippines and the Filipino people.”
Additionally, the decree orders the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to secure the viability of the existing eagle population by establishing sanctuaries in areas where the eagle is known to exist, promoting the participation of local communities in the management of its habitat through stewardship agreements, accelerating and expanding field research and monitoring of its activities, and promoting public awareness and education about the bird.
On Jan. 13, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte rechristened a two-year-old rescued Philippine eagle as Sakura (cherry blossoms) in honor of Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan.
But more than that, the bird has been featured on Philippine stamps 12 times, between 1967 and 2007. In numismatics, it was depicted on the 50-centavo coin minted from 1981 to 1994.
Already classified as critically endangered since 2010, the Philippine eagle’s habitat is also facing deforestation due to illegal logging, expansion of swidden (kaiñgin) farming, and the rise of small settlements in areas declared by government as alienable and disposable. On the side, the rise of pollution and the uncontrolled disposal of pollutants have affected their food sources and, by extension, their lifespan.
