never engages in soaring flight. Typically, this species is known to perch inconspicuously in thick canopy and can be fairly difficult to see as it often slips away quietly, seemingly to avoid human detection. Due to its occasional tendency to vocalize at night, large eyes, and almost owl-like facial area, this species has at times been hypothesized to be an occasional nocturnal hunter, but the Papuan eagle has never been proven to hunt by night and is now thought to be a diurnal hunter like other eagles. The Papuan eagle is a powerful hunter that uses the still or perch hunting style typical of many forest raptors, gliding from often routine perch sites inconspicuously as possible within the forest. Flights between hunting perches are up to but usually as little as . This raptor is said to detect terrestrial prey partially through sound by listening for movement in the undergrowth, and while hunting, often bobs its head side to side, and turns it at peculiar angles, seeming to be getting a fix on the prey's location before dropping down. More unconventional hunting styles have been incorporated where the eagle clambers about from branch to branch, stopping to examine several holes or crevices and tearing into clumps of epiphytes. Sometimes Papuan eagles will also shake foliage to force small mammals to poke their heads out. This hunting method is reminiscent of unrelated accipitrids such as harrier hawks and crane hawks, which also possess unusually elongated leg morphology in a possible case of convergent evolution, but the Papuan eagle lacks the unusual leg joints that allow those raptors to bend their legs multiple directions. The Papuan eagle is also known to spend a fair amount of time on the ground and to run with considerable agility and surprising speed, apparently whilst hunting for prey such as megapodes. The preferred prey appears to be a wide range of mammals. Regularly reported as primary prey are phalangers, tree-kangaroos, common ringtail possums, Dorcopsis and Dorcopsulus as well as woolly rats and giant naked-tailed rats. Phalangers or Kapul in a local language (although this name may sometimes apply to any marsupials), hence its alternative name, are often considered the most important prey. One food study in Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area reinforced the primary importance of phalangers, as more than half of 29 prey items were these marsupials. However, a different study of the same wildlife