Martial Eagle

Description:

The Martial Eagle is a very large eagle, with a length of 78–96 cm (31–38 in), weight of 3–6.2 kg (6.6–14 lb) and a wingspan of 188–260 cm (6 ft 2 in–8 ft 6 in). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 56–67.5 cm (22–26.6 in), the tail is 27.2–32 cm (10.7–13 in), the tarsus is 9.7–13 cm (3.8–5.1 in).This is the largest eagle in Africa and is the fifth heaviest (on average) eagle in the world. The adult's plumage consists of dark grey-brown coloration on the upperparts, head and upper chest, with slightly lighter edging to these feathers. The body underparts are white with blackish-brown spotting. The underwing coverts are brown, with pale flight feathers being streaked with black. The female is usually larger and more spotted than the male. The immature is paler above, often whitish on the head and chest, and has less spotted underparts. It reaches adult plumage in its seventh year. Martial Eagles have a short erectile crest, which is often not prominent. It often perches in a quite upright position, with its long wings completely covering the tail. The bill, at 5.5 cm (2.2 in), is strong and the legs are feathered to the heavy, powerful feet. There are few serious identification challenges for the species. The Black-chested Snake Eagle is smaller, with a relatively more prominent head and white lining the flight feathers. The Crowned Eagle, which also regularly perches in an erect position, has distinctly shorter wings and a distinctly longer tail and, though its plumage is fairly variable, it is more scaled on the back and it has distinctive barring on the underparts and the wings. More so than any other African eagle, the Martial Eagle is often seen only in flight. Martial eagles have been noted as remarkable for their extremely keen eyesight (3.0–3.6 times human acuity). Due to this power, they can spot potential prey from a very great distance

Habitat:

The Martial Eagle can be found in most of sub-Saharan Africa, wherever food is abundant and the environment favourable. It is never common, but greater population densities do exist in southern Africa, especially in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Generally, these birds are more abundant in protected areas such as Kruger National Park and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in South Africa, or Etosha National Park in Namibia. Its preferred habitat is open woods and woodland edges, wooded savannah and thornbush habitats. It is not found in dense tropical forests such as the Guinean and Congolian forests, but needs trees to nest in and to use for obstruction while hunting. In southern Africa, they have adapted to more open habitats, such as semi-desert and open savanna with scattered trees, wooded hillocks and, as a recent adaptation, around pylons. They usually seem to prefer desolate or protected areas. The territory can vary greatly in size from more than 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi) to areas where nests are less than 10 km (6.2 mi) distant. This disparity is due to differences in food supply.