I checked and a swallow weights about 0.5 ounces. Coconuts weigh around 1.25 pounds so there is no way a swallow can carry a coconut. So, seriously, could a bald eagle carry a coconut?
There are four criteria that have to be satisifed for an eagle to carry a load:
- Weight.
- Aerodynamic drag.
- Grip strength & finger / talon span.
- Motivation.
IMO Eagles might be able to handle 1. They’ll flunk #2, #3, & especially #4. My answer is “No: eagles cannot / will not carry coconuts.”
As a related matter, by “coconut” do you mean the large green to tan sorta triangular fibrous husk that hangs off a tree, or the much smaller dark brown brittle-shelled nut inside that husk which takes skill and effort for humans or animals to extract? The latter is a LOT easier to carry no matter what critter we’re talking about doing the carrying. But decent bet eagles will need somebody else to extract the nut from the husk for them.
Did you just post this so we could ask “African or European swallow?”
Weight-wise, sure he could. But you’d have to put a handle on it.
Eagles have very high grip strength, and their talons might be strong enough to puncture a coconut. Motivation is going to be a problem. My recommendation is to stuff a two pound fish with a coconut, and then an eagle will easily be able to swoop down and carry it away.
I agree they’re outstanding at grip strength.
For just an un-husked nut, it’s small enough their “handspan” ought to be able to get enough around it, but they may not be able to puncture the hard shell.
Conversely, if it’s a nut-in-husk, it ought to be trivial to dig a talon into the fibrous surface. OTOH, the thing is so large compared to the eagle’s handspan it’d be like you or I trying to palm a beach ball.
I’m not sure which effect predominates in each case. But it’d be a fun experiment to watch.
Coconuts grow in South America. Harpy eagles live in South America. Female harpy eagles have ~5" talons and can exert an estimated grip strength of 500-600 psi. They can purportedly fly with up to their full body weight - 20 lbs or more with a large female (their overwhelming prey of choice are sloths, followed by monkeys). A coconut in husk weighs about 3-5 lbs.
I’ll bet on the eagle 
.
If an eagle can carry a tortoise big enough to kill a philosopher, it can carry a coconut.
It could grip it by the husk.
1 is not likely a problem - the table on this page suggests over 6.8kg (15 pounds) is possible although there are a lot of variables like whether caught mid air or lifted from the ground but if Tamerlane is correct a coconut shouldn’t be a problem
I doubt 2 is a problem. There are plenty of reports of bald eagles carrying big sticks that are more awkward and less aerodynamic in most orientations
As to 3 - bald eagle talons have a span of over 7 inches and are tipped with very sharp claws. I suspect that they would penetrate a coconut outer husk suficient to lift it, particularly bearing in mind they have eight claws so each one doesn’t have to hold too much weight.
And your 4 is irrelevant because the question was “could” not “would”.