Largest eagle species ever

The largest eagle of all time was Haast's eagle Harpagornis moorei, formerly native to New Zealand's South Island. Adult females were significantly bigger than adult males (as is general among eagles), and are estimated to have weighed 10–15 kg, with adult males weighing 9–12 kg. In terms of body size, even the largest eagle species still living today are around 40% smaller than Haast's eagle. It became extinct in around 1400 AD, when the huge flightless ostrich-like moas upon which it fed became extinct owing to over-hunting by the first Maori settlers.

Maori folklore tells of huge man-eating monster birds known as the pouakai, and it is considered plausible that such legends are based upon encounters by early Maori settlers with the real, gigantic, and undoubtedly terrifying Haast's eagle prior to its eventual extinction. No preserved specimens of this species exist, so its colouration is unknown, but according to Maori mythology the man-eating monster birds were black-and-white with a red crest and wings tipped in yellow-green, so this may provide some indication of the appearance in life of Haast's eagle.