Editing Haast's eagle (section)

==Behaviour and ecology==

[[File:Haast's eagle attacking moa at Te Papa.jpg|thumb|upright|Model at [[Te Papa]] of Haast's eagle attacking a [[moa]]]]
The Haast's eagle predominantly preyed on large, flightless bird species, including the moa, which ultimately led to the species' extinction.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Birds of prey – New Zealand's birds of prey |encyclopedia=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |last=Hutching |first=Gerard |url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/video/9945/haasts-eagle |access-date=23 March 2024 |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322110355/https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/9945/haasts-eagle |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = A Concise History of New Zealand|last = Mein Smith|first = Philippa|publisher = Cambridge University Press|year = 2012|isbn = 978-1107402171|pages = 2, 5–6}}</ref> Moa would be up to fifteen times the weight of the eagle.<ref name=Brathwaite/> Its large beak also could be used to rip into the internal organs of its prey and death then would have been caused by blood loss.<ref name=":2" /> Due to the absence of other large predators or [[kleptoparasite]]s, a Haast's eagle could easily have monopolised a single large kill over a number of days.<ref name="collections.tepapa.govt.nz" />  Its prey, the moa, could weigh up to {{convert|200|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite news |title=What we've just learned about NZ's goliath Haast's eagle |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/what-weve-just-learned-about-nzs-goliath-haasts-eagle/TTZ6OIGXIGX6PM4BGPKQSJ6RGA/ |last=Morton |first=Jamie |date=1 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119072836/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/what-weve-just-learned-about-nzs-goliath-haasts-eagle/TTZ6OIGXIGX6PM4BGPKQSJ6RGA/ |archive-date=19 January 2024 |access-date=10 May 2024 |url-status=live |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] }}</ref>

A 2021 analysis showed that, while predatory, the bill of the Haast's eagle was functionally closer to that of the [[Andean condor]] (''Vultur gryphus'') than to that of other eagles. This is also supported by historic Māori Cave art which depicts the Haast's eagle being pale-headed.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Research points to New Zealand's Haast's eagle being bald, vulture-like flesh gulper |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/12/research-points-to-new-zealand-s-haast-s-eagle-being-bald-vulture-like-flesh-gulper.html |last=Brownlie |first=Kaysha |date=12 January 2021 |access-date=22 March 2024 |work=[[Newshub]] |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322104701/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/12/research-points-to-new-zealand-s-haast-s-eagle-being-bald-vulture-like-flesh-gulper.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Extinct Haast's eagle might have been more like a Haast's vulture, study finds |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/127150610/extinct-haasts-eagle-might-have-been-more-like-a-haasts-vulture-study-finds |last=Allot |first=Amber |date=1 December 2021 |access-date=10 May 2024 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322092243/https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/127150610/extinct-haasts-eagle-might-have-been-more-like-a-haasts-vulture-study-finds |url-status=live }}</ref> It also suggests that it deployed feeding tactics more similar to those of vultures after making a kill, plunging its head into the body cavity to devour the vital organs of its prey. This may have been an adaptation as a result of the bird hunting animals much larger than itself.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi= 10.1098/rspb.2021.1913 |title= New Zealand's extinct giant raptor (Hieraaetus moorei) killed like an eagle, ate like a condor |year= 2021 |last1= Van Heteren |first1= A. H. |last2= Wroe |first2= S. |last3= Tsang |first3= L. R. |last4= Mitchell |first4= D. R. |last5= Ross |first5= P. |last6= Ledogar |first6= J. A. |last7= Attard |first7= M. R. G. |last8= Sustaita |first8= D. |last9= Clausen |first9= P. |last10= Scofield |first10= R. P. |last11= Sansalone |first11= G. |journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume= 288 |issue= 1964 |pmid= 34847767 |pmc= 8634616 |s2cid= 244731381}}</ref>