Martial Eagle

Polemaetus bellicosus

Wingspan

190–240cm

Body length

80–95cm

Weight

2,200–3,800g

Profile

Life expectancy
Clutch size: Usually 1 egg
Global status
Activity
Migration

Identification

A very large eagle with long, broad wings and a dark head and breast. The pale underparts of the adult bear dark spots. Young Martial Eagles are much paler on the head and breast and hardly spotted yet.

Colours

Plumage

Eyes

Legs & feet

Adult

Dark brown head, neck and upper breast, topped by a short crest. The white belly and feathered legs are spotted brown; the iris is yellow.

Behaviour

It uses large territories and spends a lot of time soaring. Pairs can hold their area for years. During courtship the partners circle together or call to each other from perches.

Breeding & rearing

A large stick nest is usually in a tall tree, locally also on a cliff or a power pylon. The demanding rearing ties up both parents: at first the male in particular hunts, while the female tends the young bird.

Diet

Prey examples

Guineafowl

Hares

It hunts medium-sized mammals, larger birds and monitor lizards. Depending on region and sex, gamebirds or small antelopes, for example, dominate; occasionally it uses carrion.

Hunting

The martial eagle searches for larger birds and mammals on the ground while soaring. When it spots suitable prey, it seizes it with its powerful talons after a steep stoop.

Distribution

Range

Sub-Saharan Africa

Habitat

Open savannahs, grassland, open woodland and semi-deserts with large trees or other tall nest sites.

Open grassland with scattered acacias — Savannahs