African Crowned Eagle

The African Crowned Eagle is a massively built forest eagle and among the most powerful raptors in the world relative to its size. It has blackish-grey upperparts and a boldly patterned rufous-and-black barred breast and belly, with a short double crest that it raises when alert or displaying.

Its legs are thick and powerfully muscled, ending in enormous talons capable of exerting crushing force, and its broad, rounded wings and long, strongly barred tail are adaptations for maneuvering through dense forest canopy.

Key field marks

• Bulky, powerfully built body with short, broad, rounded wings suited to forest flight
• Rufous underparts boldly barred and spotted with black
• Long tail with broad dark bars
• Small double crest raised when excited or displaying

Similar species

• Long-crested Eagle is much smaller and slighter, with a long, floppy, wispy crest rather than a short double crest.
• Martial Eagle is larger overall with mostly white underparts spotted dark, and prefers open savanna rather than forest interior.
• Juveniles are largely white below with a grey-brown back, distinct from the barred rufous adult plumage.

Range

Found across sub-Saharan Africa in scattered forest blocks, from West Africa through the Congo Basin to East Africa and isolated forest patches in southern Africa, including parts of South Africa.

Habitat

Requires large tracts of dense montane or lowland tropical forest with tall trees for nesting and hunting perches; also uses forest fragments and wooded ravines in otherwise open landscapes.

Movement

Sedentary, defending large forest territories year-round; highly dependent on continuous forest cover, making it vulnerable to deforestation.

Behavior

An ambush predator, the African Crowned Eagle typically hunts from a concealed perch, dropping suddenly onto monkeys, small antelope such as duikers, hyraxes, and other mammals, striking with tremendous force from its powerful talons.

Voice

Gives a loud, far-carrying "kewee-kewee-kewee" call, especially during soaring display flights above the forest canopy that advertise territory to neighboring pairs.

Nesting

Pairs build an enormous stick nest, reused and added to over many years, high in a large forest tree. Usually two eggs are laid, but sibling aggression typically leaves only one surviving chick, which remains dependent on its parents for close to a year — one of the longest fledging periods of any eagle.