From Opus

Photo by tconzemi
Ngorongoro-Crater, Tanzania, December 2010

Hieraaetus ayresii

Aquila ayresii

[edit] Identification

55 cms

• Brown head
• Black bill
• White and black throat
• White legs
• Brownish-black back
• Yellow eyes

Variation: underside streaking can be very variable, from strongly streaked to almost clean white with dark flanks.

Photo by Tom Tarrant
Mabira Forest, Uganda

[edit] Distribution

Africa south of Sahara:
Western Africa: Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola
Eastern Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

[edit] Aquila vs. Hieraaetus

Hieraaetus species are sometimes placed in a broader defined Aquila (e.g. Clements, 2005). Sibley & Monroe (1996) and Howard & Moore (2003) retain the placement in Hieraaetus, and the Opus awaits further clarification.

[edit] Habitat

Edge of evergreen forest. Open savanna.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

The diet includes rabbits, field mice and other rodents, and the eggs of other birds.

[edit] Breeding

The nest is built high up in the tree canopy and 1 white egg is laid.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Birdforum thread discussing id of Ayres's Hawk-Eagle

[edit] External Links