South African wildlife – Martial eagle

ByEd Yong
October 09, 2009

This is the martial eagle, one of Africa’s largest eagles* and a truly formidable predator, even occassionally killing small antelope like duiker. This adult was a fair distance away but the presence of large nests gives away the location of trees where they might be found perching.

* I say “one of” because books differ as to whether the title belongs to the martial or the similarly sized crowned eagle. A comparison of various field guides suggested that the crowned is longer but the martial wins in terms of weight and wingspan (which has an impressive maximum of 8.5 feet).

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Get a FREE tote featuring 1 of 7 ICONIC PLACES OF THE WORLD

Related Topics

Go Further