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Our Harpy Eagle from Panama
Jan. 9th, 2025 10:04 amThe other day I wrote about a few dollars of coins I brought home from Panama. "Money is the easiest souvenir," I've quipped a number of times after foreign travel. But a few coins isn't all we brought home from Panama as a souvenir. At the artisans' market in El Valle we bought a carving of a harpy eagle.
The harpy eagle, or águila arpía, is the national bird of Panama. It's a bird of prey that lives in tropical rain forests. It eats by yanking mammals such as sloths and monkeys out of trees, throwing them to the ground, and killing them while they're stunned on the ground if the fall didn't kill them. This piece of art is hand carved, hand painted wood. For now we've just hung it on our bed post. For now, also, we've named her Griega. That's Spanish for Greek (woman), reflecting that harpies are creatures of ancient Greek myth.
The harpy eagle, or águila arpía, is the national bird of Panama. It's a bird of prey that lives in tropical rain forests. It eats by yanking mammals such as sloths and monkeys out of trees, throwing them to the ground, and killing them while they're stunned on the ground if the fall didn't kill them. This piece of art is hand carved, hand painted wood. For now we've just hung it on our bed post. For now, also, we've named her Griega. That's Spanish for Greek (woman), reflecting that harpies are creatures of ancient Greek myth.
