Not so little eagle

Hieraaetus moorei was a large eagle that lived in New Zealand and preyed on 11 foot tall ostritch-like birds known as South Island giant moa.  Though this prey is what Haast's Eagle is most often depicted hunting, it is likely that the eagle would have more often eaten smaller species of moa, as well as other species of birds.

H. moorei is a product of Insular gigantisism; a phenomenon where smaller animals tend to grow larger than their mainland counterparts often times due to lack of competition or predation from mainland predators. In contrast to the little eagle, which weighs 1.8 pounds, a full grown Haast's eagle weighs in at around 30 pounds.


Because someone asks me this every time I post a deviation with the words "Hieraateus" and "moorei" in the same sentence here is a link to a genetic study that concluded that the Little eagle of Australia was the closest relative of the Haast's Eagle.
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/…



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Disclaimer and credit:
I do not take credit for the skeleton references used in the making of this artwork,  nor do I claim said skeletons as my own.