African Hawk-Eagle ( Aquila spilogaster, family: Accipitridae)
The African Hawk-Eagle (Latin name Aquila spilogaster) is described in
Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique
Roberts number of 137 and you will find a full description of this bird
on page 533 also a picture of the African Hawk-Eagle on page 496. The
African Hawk-Eagle belongs to the family of birds classified as
Accipitridae.
The Robert's 7 Latin name for African Hawk-Eagle has changed from Hieraaetus spilogaster in Robert's 6 to Aquila spilogaster
The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps
The African Hawk-Eagle is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident
In terms of distribution of the African Hawk-Eagle in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. African Hawk-Eagle : see above distribution map.
The African Hawk-Eagle.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The African Hawk-Eagle is a largish bird about the same size as a Pied Crow. The height of the African Hawk-Eagle is about 65 cms and its weight is about 1300 gms
The male and female African Hawk-Eagle have the same plumage and colours
- Head is black.
- Eye is orange.
- Bill is grey.
- Throat is white, black.
- Back is grey, black.
- Legs are yellow.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The African Hawk-Eagle feeds on the ground mainly
Reptiles
Other Birds
Smaller animals
Aquatic life forms
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The African Hawk-Eagle is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Aquila spilogaster will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of African Hawk-Eagle is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 1 to 2
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for African Hawk-Eagle are: woodlands and arid areas
You will normally see the African Hawk-Eagle in pairs.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Unknown
Zulu ... Unknown
Afrikaans ...Grootjagarend
German ... Habichtsadler
Portuguese ... guia-domin
French ... Aigle fasci
Dutch ... Afrikaanse Havikarend
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 137
The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za
