African Hawk-eagle
A species of Greater True Eagles Scientific name : Aquila spilogaster Genus : Greater True Eagles
African Hawk-eagle, A species of Greater True Eagles
Botanical name: Aquila spilogaster
Genus: Greater True Eagles
Content
Description General Info
Description
The African hawk-eagle is a small to medium-sized eagle at about 55–65 centimetres (22–26 in) in length. The upper parts are blackish. Its underparts are white heavily streaked with black. The underwing flight feathers are white with a black trailing edge. The underwing coverts are mostly black with white spots. Sexes are similar, but young birds are brown above and rufous coloration replaces the black underparts of the adult. It was noted in a 2010 study that you could possibly distinguish a male and female adult due to the fact that the female tends to be more heavily marked below than a male. They can easily be confused with the Ayres's hawk-eagle however in flight, the Ayres lacks the white windows on the primaries and tends to be smaller with a nuchal crest. Their underparts are also more heavily streaked than that of the African hawk-eagle. 
Size
70 cm
Feeding Habits
African Hawk-eagle primarily hunts birds, like spurfowl and guineafowl, by flushing them from vegetation or from a perch or air. Small mammals, reptiles, and insects also form part of its diet. Cooperative hunting is observed with one african Hawk-eagle flushing prey for the striking partner.
Habitat
The african Hawk-eagle is typically found in a variety of wooded ecosystems across sub-Saharan Africa. Their habitat includes open woodlands, savannas, and areas with scattered trees, particularly favoring broad-leaved woodland and forest edges. While they tend to avoid both dense forests and extremely mountainous regions, african Hawk-eagles are adaptable and can also occupy semi-desert zones, riparian forests, and thorny brushlands. They do not shy away from human-modified landscapes such as agricultural plantations, provided there are sufficient trees for nesting. Interestingly, despite a general aversion to mountain terrains, they occasionally nest on cliffs.
Dite type
Carnivorous
General Info
Distribution Area
The African hawk-eagle is found in large parts of Africa south of the Sahara. It occurs in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DRCongo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This is a bird of well-wooded countryside which does not occur in forests. They can inhabit sparse savanna, semi-desert areas to tall broad-leaved woodland and avoid evergreen forests and mountainous areas. They have however been known to nest on cliff faces which is counter-intuitive.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Download Picture Bird
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
