African hawk eagle

Introduction: African hawk-eagles (Aquila spilogaster) inhabit mostly savannah and woodland although they are absent from dense forest and mountainous regions. A feature of their behaviour is their aggressive tenancies towards other raptors including Verreauxs' Eagles. Pair members often soar together or perch closely on pylons or tall trees, including farmlands.

Distribution: Widespread throughout central and northern Namibia, including Etosha National Park, Epupa Falls, Kaokoland and Ovamboland.

Diet: Can attack prey up to 4kg with large feet, from perch or aerially. Eats mainly birds such as francolins, guineafowl, hornbills, doves and plovers. Mammalian prey includes hares, rock hyrax, mongooses, fruit-bats, bushbabies, springhare, klipspringer, and rodents. Sometimes takes snakes, lizards and carrion.

Description: Spilogaster is a Latin phrase meaning 'spotted underside'.

Breeding: Females lay 1 or 2 eggs between April and August in a stick and twig nest.

Size: 65cm.

Weight: 1.5kg.

Wingspan: 1.5m.