Red List of South African Species

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diagnostics

80-90 cm; 3.6 kg. A large, powerful and attractively patterned eagle of forested, hilly landscapes. Adults can be identified by their hawk-like appearance with mostly dark colouration and obvious crest. Upperparts and crown mostly blackish with dark chestnut-brown on sides of neck and face. Below heavily barred black, with chest washed rufous. Tail grey with obvious broad, dark bars. Underwing coverts chestnut and remiges white with two (females) or three (males) black bars. Bill black with grey cere. Feet yellowish with black claws. Leggings heavily barred and spotted. Juveniles are much paler than adults, with whitish head, nape and crown. Upperparts dark grey, with prominent white feather edges. Underparts mostly white with brownish wash on breast. Bill black with grey cere. Eyes yellowish brown. Undergoes three incomplete moults over four years to attain adult plumage. (Simmons 2005).

trophic

The species is found mostly in forest, including gallery and riverine forest, but also occurs in woodland and forested gorges in savannah and grassland (Simmons 2005). Crowned Eagles are readily found in plantations of exotic trees. They normally perch for long periods, resting inside the forest canopy, but will sometimes soar high above the canopy. Males also perform repeated aerial displays accompanied by loud calls in the vicinity of the nesting territory. The diet is composed primarily of mammals (96%) and particularly hyraxes, antelope and primates; large birds (3.5%) and reptiles (0.5%) make up the remainder (Simmons 2005). A generation length of 18.5 years, based on a published estimate of mean age at first breeding and extrapolated maximum longevity in the wild, was provided by BirdLife International (2014).

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