Haast's eagle: the flying tiger that hunted like no other bird of prey
The largest eagle hunted unlike any other bird of prey (2021)
New research reveals that Haast's eagle, the world's largest eagle, combined eagle-like talons with a vulture-like beak to take down moa, birds that could weigh over 250 kilograms. The 15-kilogram predator, which lived in New Zealand until about 700 years ago, evolved its unusual body shape to tackle prey too large to carry, delivering a killing blow with its beak and then eating the internal organs on site. The findings, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, help explain the eagle's puzzling mix of features.
It's the fastest size gain we know of in a raptor and practically in any vertebrate. It's fair to call it a flying tiger, filling the big predator niche.