Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) of South America is perhaps the most awesome and powerful avian predator on Earth. A big female can reach up to 1 metre/3 feet in length, 2 metres/6.5 feet in wingspan, and 9 kg/20 lbs in weight, and boasts hind talons that are around the same size as a grizzly bear’s claws and much sharper. It is surprisingly agile for its size, perfectly capable of winging its way through thick jungle canopy and dropping rapidly onto its prey. And it is strong enough to take off again while gripping a monkey or a sloth weighing as much as 6.8 kg/15 lbs.
The 2017 harpy eagle by Safari Ltd. is sculpted in a standing pose with its head turned to the left and its wings folded up. Personally, I think it would have been more impressive and fun to play with had the wings been fully spread, but this still looks quite regal. It stands 6 cm tall at the crest and is slightly over 9 cm long, making it a decent-sized raptor toy. The harpy is by far the biggest eagle in the Americas, but shares the title of world’s biggest with both the Philippine eagle and the Steller’s sea eagle.
The head is medium grey with a very dark grey beak and dull green eyes surrounded by very dark grey. The wings and back are a lighter shade of dark grey with white tinges and white stripes on the tail feathers. The plumage on the underside is white with black markings on the legs. Finally, the feet are brownish-yellow with black talons. All these colours have been applied neatly and are very recognizable as those of a harpy eagle.
The sculpting on this eagle is par for the course for a Safari Ltd. bird, which is to say that it is excellent. The head features the telltale large, somewhat crown-like crest of feathers and the underbelly has a soft, fluffy appearance. The wings have identifiable primaries and secondaries and primary, secondary, median, and lesser covert feathers, all with visible sculpted vanes. The same goes for the tail feathers.
Moreover, this harpy has a large beak with a sharp, downturned tip and enormous feet ending in curved talons. Granted, the talons are not as large and lethal-looking as on the real deal, but they still look a lot better than those on certain other eagle figures. Anyone can tell right away that this is a powerful and deadly bird of prey. As mentioned in the introduction, the harpy’s main prey items are sloths and monkeys, but it will also go after peccaries, armadillos, porcupines, foxes, macaws, and snakes.
Overall, Safari Ltd. has delivered quite a solid harpy eagle figure here. Recommended.
With other Wings of the World figures, the 2016 rainbow lorikeet and 2016 keel-billed toucan…
…and the 2017 red-tailed hawk.
This is the harpy eagle in my collection, and it probably will be for the foreseeable future. The 2023 Schleich figure has more detailed coloring, but I prefer the Safari sculpt and expression.
I also prefer this one over the new Schleich figure. Great review!
Although I prefer the head sculpt on the newer Schleich model, Safari still did a very fine job with this figurine. I’ve got one in storage and it was a total delight to acquire at the time.