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 the time, birds were grouped by looks, so many different birds were put together. The crowned eagle belongs to a group called "booted eagles," which includes many types of eagles and hawk-eagles.

Scientists have studied the crowned eagle's DNA and found it to be closely related to Asian hawk-eagles. However, it also shows unique traits that set it apart from other eagles. There was another type of crowned eagle that lived in Madagascar, but it is no longer around today. The current crowned eagle has no 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) in length, making it the fifth longest eagle in the world. Females are around 10–15% 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 quite 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 across its habitat. These eagles can 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 more than 150 centimetres (59 inches) 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, rarely going into the open grasslands around them. 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 open grasslands and areas with thorny bushes. In Zimbabwe, they can be found in open woods with Adansonia trees and sometimes hunt in grasslands and newer plant growth. In Malawi, they search for food in lower woodlands and breed in deciduous forests, dense miombo woodlands, and areas near farms. 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 do not move around much and usually stay in one area their whole lives. Young eagles explore more before they grow up. These eagles are very noisy, making loud whistling calls and performing special flights to show off or 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, with prey usually weighing between 1 to 5 kg. This includes animals like the rock hyrax, which all large eagles in East Africa hunt.

Crowned eagles hunt in forests, often choosing spots by listening for calls or watching for activity. 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 and are not meant to hurt them badly. 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. Scientists also think that an ancient human ancestor might have been attacked by an eagle a very long time ago. These stories show that crowned eagles can be very protective of their nests and young.

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. Some people also hunt these eagles because they think the birds might hurt their animals, even though this happens very rarely.