Which EDGE species will you vote for : The helmeted hornbill or the Philippine eagle? (Poll)

Eighth poll on EDGE bird species: This time it is a contest between two dinosaurian denizens of the South-East Asian rainforests : the Philippine eagle and the helmeted eagle.

One is a carnivore and the other largely a frugivore, however, both of these birds are charismatic and both are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN.





Which of these bird species interests you most / will you vote for ?

Please also feel free to write comments regarding why you made the choice and why the species you have voted for interests you more.

Thanks !

Look forward to seeing the results!


Photo credits to @ronnienl and @devilfish.

 

I have the luck to see one of the species here (the philippine eagle) and I think it's a very spectacular creature. It is still critically endangered with very few in the wild. Also look at the hair. Such a handsome boy.

 

Another difficult choice but, despite my fondness for hornbills, I had to vote for the eagle.

I have vivid childhood memories of seeing this spectacular eagle species many times ìn the old Birds-of-Prey Aviary at London Zoo and have also been fortunate enough to see the species in Antwerp Zoo, Planckendael and Los Angeles Zoo. It has always been one of my favourite birds.

Incidentally, l'll never get used to calling this species by its new name the Philippine eagle; it will always be the monkey-eating eagle to me.

 

Although I have never seen one, the Eagle would be a likely winner against most other bird species you played it against, and a top target if I ever visit the Philippines. However, Sabah is famous for it’s 8 Hornbill species; with a day or two left, 7 were safely in the bag. Then the call started, the slow hoot which gradually speeds up over 20 minutes or more. A race to find the bird before it stops calling. Success and a rare view of the flying cassowary perched up on the edge of a clearing. Victory for the Hornbill; long May it clash casques with its rivals in Malaysia and beyond!

 

Thank you for your comment and voting @aardvark250 !

You are very lucky indeed, where did you see the species ? was it in the wild or in captivity ?

 

Thank you for your comment and voting @Tim May !

Very lucky to have seen it Tim ! I would love to see a Philippine eagle, they are such striking looking raptors.

I didn't know that the London zoo had held this species in the recent past (I assumed probably in 19th century but not in past 50 years), did it live a long time there ?

For me personally I don't think I would ever associate this species with the name monkey-eating eagle because I've always associated that with the harpy eagle.

 

Thanks for your comment and voting @Tetzoo Quizzer !

Love the way you phrased that : "Victory for the Hornbill; long May it clash casques with its rivals in Malaysia and beyond!"

Yes, I remember in a previous thread you telling about your experiences trying to track one of these species down in the wild, I would love to have this experience myself one day.

Would you say that the helmeted hornbill is your favourite species of Bucerotid ?

 

London Zoo didn't have this species in the 19th Century; the first Philippine eagle at London Zoo was acquired on 2nd September 1909. (Incidentally, I believe it was the first representative of this species in any zoo in the world.)

London Zoo hasn't held the species since the 1960s, so not that recently.

Off-hand I'm not sure how long that individual lived but I saw it many times as a child.

Until comparatively recently, monkey-eating eagle was the generally accepted name for this species (at least in English); after all, "monkey-eating"is a literal translation of its generic name Pithecophaga

 

Oh right, I didn't know that, very interesting that the London zoo obtained the species so comparatively late.

I bet it was a very impressive bird to see as a child when visiting the zoo, they are such striking and powerful looking birds.

Oh yes, I know why it is called the monkey eating eagle but I just always associate the harpy eagle as being a more prolific predator of primates.

 

I'm sorry. Of course you knew that; I wasn't trying to suggest that you didn't know the derivation of the name "monkey-eating".

Further to my earlier comment, the London Zoo monkey-eating eagle that I remember was received from Antwerp Zoo in 1963 and sadly died in 1966.

 

Yes, although the ground hornbills are very close behind.

 

No need to apologise Tim, wasn't offended or anything like that

Very interesting and quite sad too but its great that you have managed to see this species a number of times at different zoos throughout your life.

I know that this species can be quite challenging to maintain in captivity and I think (not 100 % sure) its only been within the last few decades that it has been successfully kept alive over the long term at the Philippine eagle center in its range country.

 

I see the Philippine Eagle in Jurong, back in 2019. I was actually more lucky since when I booked my flight there are no news of it arriving there. I went to Jurong in July 2019 and i believe they have just been on show in June that year. So a very lucky and pleasant surprise I would say.

 

Wow ! You got very lucky indeed to see it at Jurong !

Have they had any breeding success with the species there yet ?

 

I've always called the African Crowned Eagle the Monkey-Eating Eagle as well as the Philippine Eagle, the Philippine Crowned Eagle

 

Interesting, yes, all of these eagles are predators of monkeys and I guess the primary association depends on where you are in the world.

 

Somewhat unsuprisingly the Philippine eagle won this poll so here is a video of this gorgeous raptor to celebrate its victory:



For those interested here is a great little documentary on efforts to conserve this species in its native Philippines:

 

So who are these 4 miscreants who voted for the hornbill?

 

Guilty...

 

And me, see post above...