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The African Crowned Eagle, also known as the Crowned Eagle or the Crowned Hawk-eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) is a large bird of prey found in sub-Saharan Africa. The crowned eagle is the only extant member of the genus Stephanoaetus.

At least 90 per cent of the diet is mammalian. Throughout its range the principal prey items are small ungulates (such as duikers, chevrotains), rock hyrax and small primates such as monkeys.

Although the Crowned Eagle's long tail imparts an overall length up to 35 in, it is somewhat less massive and has a considerably shorter wingspan than the martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus). It is nevertheless considered Africa's most powerful eagle when measured in terms of the weight of its prey items. It often preys on mammals such as bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), exceptionally weighing up to 66 lb albeit usually much less. The crowned eagle possesses unusually large talons and strong hindlegs, and may kill by crushing the skull. The eagle is also ferocious; some records from beneath a nest show the remains of a large, male Sooty mangabey weighing 24 lb.

Due to their ecological similarities, the crowned eagle is Africa's best analogue of the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja). Thanks to its bold and highly conspicuous behavior, it is exceptionally well-studied for a large, forest-dwelling eagle. Due to a relatively high level of habitat adaptability, it was until recently considered to be faring well by the standards of large, forest-dependent raptors. However, today it is generally thought that it is decreasing far more than was previously perceived due to the almost epidemic destruction of native tropical African forest. It is now listed as Near Threatened.

This species was first described by Linnaeus in the 12th edition of Systema Naturae, published in 1766, as Falco coronatus. Since birds were grouped largely on superficial characteristics at that time, many unrelated species were grouped by Linnaeus in the Falco genus. The actual taxonomic alignment of the crowned eagle is apparent due to its feathering over its tarsus, which is generally rare in unrelated accipitrids. The crowned eagle is actually part of the diverse “booted eagle” group, which has sometimes been considered a distinct subfamily (Aquillnae). Included in this grouping are the Aquila genus and all species described as “hawk eagles” including the genera Spizaetus and Nisaetus.

The crowned eagle is a very large eagle. Measuring from 31 to 39 in length, it is the fifth longest extant eagle in the world. The wingspan typically ranges from 4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in. The largest authenticated wingspan for a female was 6 ft 3 in.

The adult crowned eagle is quite strikingly plumaged. Its crown is dark to rufous-tinged brown with a prominent, oft-raised black-tipped double crest, which can give the head a somewhat triangular appearance.
The crowned eagle inhabits mainly dense woodlands, including those deep within rainforest, but will sometimes also be found in relict patches, wooded escarpments, riparian strips of Acacia, heavily wooded hillsides, and rocky outcrops throughout its range.

Typical of most raptors that breed in Africa, the crowned eagle is non-migratory and is largely sedentary. This species usually inhabits a fixed territory throughout the year its adult life.

The crowned eagle is highly vocal and has a noisy, undulating display flight. In Equatorial Africa, they often call year-around, while elsewhere they may vocalize mainly in the context of breeding and nesting activities.

Mature crowned eagles are reportedly nearly fearless towards humans and, unless “gun-shy” from prior interactions, unusually prone to treat human aggressively. Some biologists consider this species highly intelligent, cautious, independent and inquisitive when compared to other accipitrids.

The crowned eagle is often described as the most powerful raptor in Africa, even more so than the two slightly heavier species endemic to Africa, the martial eagle and the Verreaux's eagle (Aquila verreauxii).

One listing included the crowned eagle as the only bird in a ranking of the 10 strongest living land creatures (pound for pound). Elsewhere, the harpy eagle is listed as the overall most powerful living eagle and bird-of-prey.

While several smaller raptorial birds will attack humans if they come too close to the nesting site, usually these have minor consequences for the human victim. Mother crowned eagles, in the post-fledging stage, readily attack any human who comes close to the nest; adult males may also attack humans before fledging but only do so rarely. Despite the size and power of the eagle, attacks by the eagles may have minor consequences as well since the attacks are meant only to displace and not kill or seriously maim the intruding animal. However, nest-defense attacks may nonetheless possibly result in deep, painful, open wounds, which can lead to risk of infection or the need for stitches. Reportedly, injury such an attack can be prevented by jabbing the eagle gently with a large stick. The crowned eagle is perhaps the only extant raptorial bird which has been believed to attack human children as prey. In one case, a 7-year old boy, of a weight of approximately 20 kg (44 lb), was ambushed by a crowned eagle, who gouged its talons through the boy’s throat and chest. The attack was ended by a woman who came upon them and rescued the child by bludgeoning the eagle to death with a hoe. In another case, the skull of a human child was found in the nest of a crowned eagle pair. In yet another instance, when assisting in the investigation of the disappearance of a four-year-old girl, Simon Thomsett came to believe she was the victim of a crowned eagle after the severed arm of a child was found in a tall tree that was inaccessible to leopards and known to be used as a crowned eagle cache. One other living eagle, the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), has been confirmed to take a human child in an isolated, possible predation attempt, a four-year-old girl in Sweden.

The 6000 series photos were taken in Kenya. The otehr were taken in the LA Zoo.

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