 One of a group of four large eagles, the others being the crested and harpy eagle of South America and the Philippine eagle of the Philippines (although the latter may be more closely related to species of snake eagle around the world), the New Guinea harpy eagle is essentially a mountain bird that nests in high forest trees, but may be found down to sea level in the few places where forests remain undisturbed.Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size, and hunting for its feathers which are used on ceremonial occasions, the Papuan eagle is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.