The largest bird of prey is the Andean condor. Not only is it the largest meat-eating bird in the world but it is on average seemingly the most massive flying bird species alive today. Unlike most typical birds of prey, male Andean condors tend to be larger than females. The average male was found to weigh 12.5 kg (28 lb) while the average female to weigh 10.1 kg (22 lb). The Andean condor is 1 to 1.3 m (3.2–4.2 feet) in total length and has a mean wingspan of 2.83 m (9.2 feet). The largest individual Andean condors weigh up to 15 kg (33 lb) and span up to 3.3 m (10.9 feet) across the wings. Andean condors have also reportedly the largest wing surface area of any living bird despite a few seabirds notably exceeding them in wingspan. Other vultures that are nearly as large as the unrelated Old World vultures, the cinereous vulture, which averages about 15% lighter than the Andean condor, and the Himalayan vulture, which averages about 20% lighter. The Andean condor’s cousin, the California condor, averages about 25% lighter than it despite being slightly longer in total length. The wingspans of these birds is almost the same, averaging about 2.7 m (8.95 feet) in the California condor and about 2.75 m (9.1 feet) in the Himalayan vulture and probably about the same in the cinereous vulture.
Andean condors are known to be the world’s biggest bird of prey.
Cinereous vultures may be the closest rival in bulk of the meat-eating birds to Andean condor.
The largest active hunting raptors are called eagles. There are about three species that closely rival one another to be largest proper bird of prey (in terms of regularly rapaciously grasping live prey). The heaviest eagle appears to be the Steller’s sea eagle which in an unsexed small sample of adults weighed a mean of 7.73 kg (17 lb). The Steller’s sea eagle also has one of the largest eagle wingspans with a median of around 2.25 m (7.4 feet) and sometimes reportedly up to 2.7–2.8 m (8.95–9.1 feet) (rivaled only on average by the Steller’s smaller cousin, the white-tailed eagle, and at maximum by the wedge-tailed eagle). Very closely rivaling the Steller’s in body mass is the harpy eagle which can average over 8 kg (17.6 lb) in some studies but males are significantly smaller, at over 40% lighter. The Philippine eagle is slightly less heavy than both the Steller’s and harpy eagles but appears to be the longest eagle at lengths of 89 to 112 cm (35–44 inches). There is significant weight and length overlap between Steller’s, harpy and Philippine eagles but as forest-dwelling raptors the latter two have a shorter wingspan.
The Steller’s sea eagle, harpy eagle and Philippine eagle are the big three of living eagles.
None of the aforementioned giant species would rate as the most aggressive birds of prey persay. Most birds of prey small and large shy away from human interaction a great majority of the time, as we are not viable prey and are potential predators, saving their aggression for hunting prey (if active predators) and defending their territories. It would be hard to say which birds of prey are most aggressive during predation, many of them are merciless, driven and dogged to capture their intended meals. Some species are also aggressive towards humans that come to their nests. Some species in North America are known for their defensive attacks such as great horned owls, snowy owls and American goshawks. However, two sets of species that can be very loosely paired are the most aggressive to people in my opinion. The crowned and martial eagles are the two of the largest and most powerful African eagle species, adapted to denser woods and tropical forest and light woodland and savanna in the latter, respectively. Both species have been documented to hunt for human children, both successfully and unsuccessfully. Meanwhile, in southerly parts of (mostly) mainland Asia, nocturnal and diurnal near ecological equivalents in similar ranges and habitats are infamous for their hyper-aggressive nest defense namely: the spot-bellied eagle-owl (an owl with the size and strength suggestive of an eagle) and the mountain hawk-eagle (an eagle with the aplomb, agility and adaptations suggestive of a large goshawk). The tropical environment full of potential nest predators may warrant their extreme reactions. The eagle-owl reportedly inhibits study due of its nest sites due to the forcefulness and frequency of their attacks. Meanwhile, the hawk-eagle was in one instance recorded in Kumaon, India to attack a woman so brutally that she subsequently died from the injuries.
The crowned eagle (top) and martial eagle are powerful eagles both known to hunt down primates and large prey like antelope and sometimes include human children in the prey spectrum.
Mountain hawk-eagles (top) and spot-bellied eagle-owls are near diurnal-nocturnal ecological equivalents in similar ranges and habitats; both are known for the ferocity with the worse attacks by these hawk-eagles known to be potentially fatal.
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