Is it really a bird or is it someone dressed up in a bizarre feathered costume?

No, it's just the Harpy Eagle!

The Harpy eagle is the largest of all birds and has claws that are bigger than a bear's. It has a fierce, majestic face and feathers that have grey and black tones.

The bird has a very peculiar face and is 'huge'

This bird reaches a height of up to 3 feet and 5 inches and has an overall wingspan of up to 7 feet and 4 inches. Their size makes them incredible, extraordinary creatures, and they might even seem terrifying.

To give you a clear view of the size of this bird, a female Bald eagle weighs 12 pounds on average, while the female Harpy eagle weighs between 13 to 20 pounds. Male Harpy eagles are a little bit smaller than the females; they weigh between 9 to 13 pounds.

The giant bird has grey, black and white feathers and it is the same for both males and females. You might expect their wings to be equally long compared to the rest of their bodies, but that isn't the case.

The Harpy Eagle lives in tropical lowland rainforests in South and Middle America

The wingspan of this bird is shorter than other eagles' wings. And this is because of their habitats. Shorter wings help them navigate better in the forest.

They possess an incredible power and can swiftly snatch their prey.

According to Fact Zoo, Harpy eagles eat larger prey than their smaller relatives do: "Monkeys, tree porcupines, sloths, coatis, birds, snakes, lizards, etc." We are just glad that 'humans' aren't on that list!

Besides, the eagle can fly up to 50 miles per hour, so it's no struggle for them to swoop in and grab their prey.

What's even more intimidating is their claws, which are actually larger than those of a bear (measuring 5 inches in length).

They live in the upper canopy layer of tropical lowland forests.

Unfortunately, the Harpy eagles are becoming rarer worldwide due to the destruction of their habitat. They're nearly eradicated in Central America.

According to reports, there are less than 50,000 Harpy eagles worldwide.

In Brazil, the Harpy eagle is also known as the 'royal-hawk.'

Harpy eagles are popular on the internet

For example, one compilation pic of the harpy eagle got more than 91,600 upvotes in less than 20 hours on Reddit. While the same picture got over 120,000 views on Imgur in a similar time-frame.

This is what people thought of the majestic bird!