What’s the biggest, heaviest eagle in the world? Meet the contenders – including a giant with a monster 3-metre wingspan

Today the biggest eagle in the world is often claimed to be the Steller’s sea eagle, a fish-eating species from North-East Asia.

Steller’s sea eagles are one of the rarest raptors in the world. Birdlife International estimate there’s 3600-4670 mature individuals in the wild and say”it is suspected that it will decline at a rate of 20-30% over three generations.”

However there are other contenders for biggest eagle title. The white-tailed eagle of Eurasia might just match Steller’s sea eagle in terms of wingspan (both can reach about 2.5m), and the Philippine eagle and harpy eagle of tropical America might be just as heavy (up to about 10kg).

John Megahan, CC BY 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

For an undisputed winner of all time, you have to go back 600 years. Weighing 15kg and with a 3m wingspan, the Haast’s eagle is thought to be the biggest eagle that ever lived. It specialised in hunting New Zealand’s giant, flightless moas and disappeared in the 15th century after the Māori hunted the moas to extinction.

This article by Stuart Blackman was first published by Discover Wildlife on 7 August 2026.

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