“While spending days watching an animal in the wild-you get to see things you otherwise might not. The Harpy Eagle is one of the few raptors to have a ‘facial disk,’ a trait they share with owls. The disk can be ‘lifted’ and ‘lowered’ at will. The facial disk helps to direct sounds to the birds’ ears-all the better to hunt by. They also have a crest composed of longer feathers-which can also be raised and lowered at will. . I was able to witness the raising of the crest when this particular bird experienced spider monkeys coming into the canopy of the tree in which her nest resides. Her crest immediately went up-and stayed up for a while after the monkeys left. Here it’s seen in its fabulous glory.”
quote and pic from https://www.instagram.com/ilcp_photographers/
