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To the Beauty of Birds

The African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) or – to distinguish it from the true fish eagles (Ichthyophaga), the African sea eagle – is a large species of eagle that is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water occur that have an abundant food supply. It is the national bird of Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Sudan. As a result of its large range, it is known in many languages. Examples of names include: Visarend in Afrikaans; Aigle Pêcheur in French; Hungwe in Shona, and Inkwazi in isiZulu.

This species may resemble the bald eagle in appearance; though related, each species occurs on different continents, with the bald eagle being resident in North America.

The African fish eagle is a species placed in the genus Haliaeetus (sea eagles). The scientific name is derived from Haliaeetus, New Latin for "sea eagle" (from the Ancient Greek haliaetos), and vocifer is derived from its original genus name, so named by the French naturalist François Levaillant, who called it 'the vociferous one'.

The African fish eagle is a large bird, and the female, at 7-8 lbs is larger than the male. This is typical of sexual dimorphism in birds of prey. Males usually have a wingspan of about 6 feet, while females have wingspans of 8 feet. The adult is very distinctive in appearance with a mostly brown body and large, powerful, black wings. The head, breast, and tail of African fish eagles are snow white, with the exception of the featherless face, which is yellow.

While this species mainly subsists on fish, it is opportunistic and may take a wider variety of prey such as waterbirds. Its distinctive cry is, for many, evocative of the spirit or essence of Africa. The call, shriller when uttered by males, is a weee-ah, hyo-hyo or a heee-ah, heeah-heeah.

Like other sea eagles, the African fish eagle has structures on its toes called spiricules that allows it to grasp fish and other slippery prey. The osprey, a winter visitor to Africa, also has this adaptation. Should the African fish eagle catch a fish over 4 pounds, it will be too heavy to allow the eagle to get lift, so it will instead drag the fish across the surface of the water until it reaches the shore.

If it catches a fish that is too heavy to even allow the eagle to sustain flight, it will drop into the water and paddle to the nearest shore with its wings. The African fish eagle is known to steal the catch from other bird species (such as goliath herons). This behavior is known as kleptoparasitism. It will also feed on waterfowl such as ducks, small turtles and terrapins, baby crocodiles, greater flamingos and lesser flamingos, lizards such as Nile monitors, frogs and carrion. Occasionally, it may even carry off mammalian prey, such as hyraxes and monkeys. It has also been observed feeding on domestic fowl (chickens).

The 0800 series photos were taken in the LA Zoo. The other were taken at Lake Navashia, Kenya.

African Fish Eagle