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Aquila rapax (Tawny eagle)
Roofarend [Afrikaans]; Ukhozi (generic term for eagle)
[Xhosa]; Ngongo (also applied to Lesser spotted eagle) [Kwangali]; Ntsu
(also applied to Bearded vulture) [South Sotho]; Ntshukôbôkôbô [North
Sotho]; Gondo (generic name for eagle) [Shona]; Lusoti (generic for
eagles) [Swazi]; Ghama (generic term for eagle) [Tsonga]; Ntsu, Ntswi
(generic terms for eagles) [Tswana]; Afrikaanse steppearend [Dutch]; Aigle
ravisseur [French]; Raubadler [German]; Águia-fulva [Portuguese]
Life
> Eukaryotes >
Opisthokonta
> Metazoa (animals) >
Bilateria >
Deuterostomia > Chordata >
Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed
vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class:
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned
fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial
vertebrates) > Tetrapoda
(four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota >
Reptilia (reptiles) >
Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria >
Dinosauria
(dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) >
Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves
(birds) > Order: Falconiformes
> Family: Accipitridae
> Genus: Aquila
Distribution and habitat
Occupies much of sub-Saharan Africa excluding the lowland
forests of the DRC and surrounding countries, otherwise occurring from Senegal
to Sudan and Ethiopia south to southern Africa. It generally prefers
lightly-wooded savanna, but it may also move into Nama Karoo and treeless
grasslands where it can nest on pylons and alien trees.
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Distribution of Tawny eagle in southern Africa,
based on statistical smoothing of the records from first SA Bird Atlas
Project (©
Animal Demography unit, University of
Cape Town; smoothing by Birgit Erni and Francesca Little). Colours range
from dark blue (most common) through to yellow (least common).
See here for the latest distribution
from the SABAP2. |
Movements and migrations
Resident and locally nomadic, moving in search
of local abundances of food such as Red-billed quelea colonies.
Food
Predator, pirate and scavenger, feeding on a wide variety
of animals. It usually hunts from a perch or while soaring, swooping down to
catch birds in flight or pouncing on other prey on the ground. It also regularly
scavenges roadkills and competes with vultures and
Marabou storks at
carcasses. The following food items have been recorded
in its diet:
- Vertebrates
- birds
- mammals
- amphibians
- fish
- reptiles
- Invertebrates
Breeding
- Monogamous, territorial solitary nester, performing a courtship display in
which the breeding pair circle together sometimes in a shallow undulating
flight.
- The nest is a platform of sticks lined with green leaves, grass and
litter, such as paper and plastic bags. It is typically placed on top of a
large tree, especially large Acacia, or alternatively on a Red-billed
buffalo-weaver colony or on the top-most cross-bar of a pylon. It also takes
over the nests of other birds, including
storks and vultures.
- Egg-laying season is from March-September, peaking from April-June.
- It lays 1-3 eggs, which are mainly incubated by the female for about
39-44 days.
- The chicks are brooded almost constantly by the female for the first 10
days of their lives while the male provides most of the food, although later
in the nestling period the female also contributes. The chicks take their
first flight at about 11-12 weeks old, still returning the nest to be fed
for a further six weeks before becoming fully independent.
Threats
Not threatened globally, although its range in southern
Africa has sharply contracted due to persecution; it is listed as locally
Endangered in Namibia.
References
-
Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts
- Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker
Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.
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