Wahlberg's Eagle

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{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Wahlberg's Eagle | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Aves | ordo = Accipitriformes | familia = Accipitridae | genus = Aquila | species = A. wahlbergi | binomial = Aquila wahlbergi | binomial_authority = Sundevall, 1851 }}

Image:D2X 3834.jpg The Wahlberg's Eagle (Aquila wahlbergi) is a bird of prey. It is about 55-60cm in length and has a wingspan of 130-160cm. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.

Wahlberg's Eagle breeds in most of Africa south of the Sahara. It is a bird of woodland, often near water. It builds a stick nest in the fork of a tree or the crown of a palm tree. The clutch is one or two eggs.

Wahlberg's Eagle is a medium-sized raptor. The plumage is dark brown except for dark streaked grey undersides to the flight feathers, and a barred grey undertail. The head has a small crest, and the legs are yellow.

There is a pale variant which is much lighter brown with whitish, rather than grey undertail and flight feather undersides. Sexes are similar.

In flight, this species is very cross-shaped, with long evenly wide wings, a slim body and long narrow square-ended tail. The wings are held very flat.

Wahlberg's Eagle hunts reptiles, small mammals and birds. The call is a whistled kleeah-kleeah-kleeah.

This bird is named after the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg.

Identification

The large brown eageles are generally a tricky group, but here are a few pointers one can use. The nostrils are round, this seperates it from Tawny and Steppe Eagles, although the Spotted Eagles also have round nostrils. This species will always tend to have some form of a crest. Also when viewed properly, the thinnes leggins assist with identification. The gape also onl extends at maximum to the middle of the eye, where as in Lesser Spotted, it extends to the back of the eye. There are both llight and dark phases of this species. See some of the attached pictures for a range of variations of this bird.

Reference

• Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1