Kingdom Animalia Order Accipitriformes Genus Hieraaetus Higher classification Aquila | Phylum Chordata Family Accipitridae Scientific name Hieraaetus wahlbergi Rank Species | |
 | ||
Similar Bird, African hawk‑eagle, Long‑crested eagle, Lizard buzzard, Ayres's hawk‑eagle | ||
Wahlberg's eagle (Hieraaetus wahlbergi, formerly Aquila wahlbergi) is a bird of prey that is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is a seasonal migrant in the woodlands and savannas. It is named after the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.
Contents
Wahlberg s eagle
Description
Wahlberg's eagle is a medium-sized raptor, and the sexes are similar. It is about 53–61 cm (21–24 in) in length with a wingspan of 130–146 cm (51–57.5 in) and a body mass of 437–845 g (15.4–29.8 oz) for males and 670–1,400 g (1.48–3.09 lb) for females on average. The head has a small crest, and the legs are yellow. The plumage tone is variable but may be dark brown except for dark-streaked grey undersides to the flight feathers, and a barred grey undertail. Light and dark plumage phases occur. A pale variant may be much lighter brown with whitish, rather than grey undertail and flight feather undersides.
While the large brown eagles are generally a tricky group to identify, Wahlberg's eagle have some distinctive features. A small, pointed crest is usually visible. The gape only extends at maximum to the middle of the eye, whereas in lesser spotted eagle, it extends to the back of the eye. Round nostrils are not present in either tawny or steppe eagles, but the two spotted eagles also have round nostrils. In flight, this species is very cross-shaped, with long, evenly wide wings, a slim body, and a narrow, square-ended tail. The wings are held very flat.
Behaviour
Wahlberg's eagle hunts reptiles, small mammals, and birds. The call is a whistled kleeah-kleeah-kleeah, while perched.
Nesting
Wahlberg's eagle breeds in most of Africa south of the Sahara. It is a bird of woodland, often near water. It builds a stick nest in the fork of a tree or the crown of a palm tree. The clutch is one or two eggs.
Taxonomy
Studies of marker gene sequences (published 2004–2005) found Wahlberg's eagle belonged to a clade containing Hieraaetus pennatus, H. morphnoides, H. ayeresii, and H. (m.) weiskei. Since then, many taxonomic checklists changed from Aquila wahlbergi to Hieraaetus wahlbergi. However, the African Bird Club (as of the 2012 checklist) and the Second Southern African Bird Atlas Project (as of 2014) continue to keep Aquila wahlbergi separate from the Hieraaetus species.
