Crowned eagle

The crowned eagle, also known as the African crowned eagle or the crowned hawk-eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus), is a large bird of prey found in sub-Saharan Africa. It lives mainly in areas near rivers and in different types of forests. This eagle is the only living member of its group, called the genus Stephanoaetus. Another relative, the Malagasy crowned eagle, lived on Madagascar but went extinct after humans arrived there.

Crowned eagles mainly eat mammals such as monkeys, antelopes, rodents, and hyraxes. They also eat birds, reptiles, and sometimes carrion. In cities, they have been seen eating chickens. These eagles have very strong legs and large talons, which help them catch and carry heavy prey, even animals as large as bushbuck.

Although not the longest or largest eagle in Africa, the crowned eagle is considered the most powerful because of the size of the animals it can catch. It is often compared to the harpy eagle of Central and South America because of their similar behaviors. Sadly, the destruction of tropical African forest is causing their numbers to decrease, and they are now listed by the IUCN as Near Threatened.

Taxonomy and systematics

This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766. At that time, birds were grouped by how they looked, so many different birds were put together. The crowned eagle is part of a group called "booted eagles," which includes many kinds of eagles and hawk-eagles.

Scientists studied the crowned eagle's DNA and found it is closely related to Asian hawk-eagles. However, it also has special traits that make it different from other eagles. There was another type of crowned eagle that lived in Madagascar, but it is no longer around today. The crowned eagle living today does not have any known subspecies.

Distribution

The crowned eagle lives only in Africa. In East Africa, you can find them from central Ethiopia through Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, all the way to eastern South Africa. In western and central Africa, they live in many forested areas, from Senegal and The Gambia through Sierra Leone and Cameroon to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. Even though they live in many places, crowned eagles are now hard to find in parts of West Africa.

Description

The crowned eagle is a very large eagle. It measures from 80 to 99 cm (31 to 39 in) long, making it the fifth longest eagle in the world. Females are a little larger than males. Their wingspan ranges from 1.51 to 1.81 m (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in), and they have strong, broad wings that help them fly in dense forests.

Adult crowned eagles have dark brown crowns and distinctive black-tipped crests on their heads. Their upper bodies are blackish brown-grey, while their bellies and breasts are white with black bars. Their wings have white bases with black tips, and their tails are black with brownish-grey bands. Juvenile eagles look different, with white heads and bellies and brown backs. They gradually change their feathers to look like adults as they grow older.

Habitat

The crowned eagle lives mainly in dense woodlands, including deep rainforest areas. It can also be found in smaller wooded patches, areas near rivers with Acacia trees, wooded hillsides, and rocky spots. These eagles live from sea level up to at least 3,000 metres (9,840 feet) high.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, crowned eagles are common in protected areas with thick, old rainforests. In Kenya, most of their homes are in rainforests that get a lot of rain each year. In parts of East Africa where protected areas are more open, these eagles prefer wooded hills and narrow strips along rivers. Studies in Southern Africa show that while they are often linked to old forests, they can also live in other areas like plantations of eucalyptus trees. In South Africa, they live in low and high forests, dense woodlands, and forested valleys. In Zimbabwe, they can be found in open woods with Adansonia trees and sometimes hunt in grasslands. In Malawi, they search for food in lower woodlands and breed in dense miombo woodlands. In Zambezi, they live in evergreen forests in hilly areas, on plateaus, and near rivers.

Behavior

Crowned eagles are large birds that live in forests across Africa. They stay in one area most of their lives. Young eagles explore more before they grow up. These eagles are very noisy, making loud whistling calls and special flights to talk to each other.

They are alert and careful but can be aggressive toward humans, especially if they live near people. Crowned eagles are smart and curious. They hunt by waiting quietly on a perch and then pouncing. They build huge nests high up in trees and take many months to build them. These eagles lay one or two eggs at a time and care for their young for a very long time—up to 11 months after the baby eagles can fly! This long care helps the young become strong and skilled.

Dietary biology

The crowned eagle is one of the strongest birds of prey in Africa. It mainly eats mammals that weigh between 1 to 5 kg. This includes animals like the rock hyrax, which large eagles in East Africa hunt.

Crowned eagles hunt in forests. They often listen for calls or watch for activity to find their prey. They usually drop onto prey from a branch. They can lift more than their own weight in flight, though this is rare.

Primates are the most common prey for crowned eagles. They often hunt monkeys, with red-tailed monkeys being a favorite in Uganda. In other areas, they also eat blue monkeys and various colobus monkeys.

Outside rainforests, crowned eagles eat a mix of prey including small antelopes like the Suni and Kirk's dik-dik. They also hunt hyraxes and sometimes birds, snakes, and even domestic animals when wild prey is scarce.

Relationship with humans

Crowned eagles can sometimes attack humans who get too close to their nests. These attacks are usually meant to scare people away. Even so, these attacks can sometimes leave deep wounds that might need medical care.

There have been rare reports of crowned eagles attacking children. For example, one young boy was hurt by an eagle while it tried to defend its nest. The crowned eagle is not in big danger, but its homes are disappearing because of things like cutting down trees for wood or farming. This makes it harder for the birds to find food and places to live. The bird is more often found in protected areas, but even there, it faces challenges.