Martial Eagle

Appearance

Thus, the martial eagle appears to average fourth in wingspan among living eagles, behind only the Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and the wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax), in roughly that order.

In total length, it can range from 78 to 96 cm (31 to 38 in), with an average of approximately 85.5 cm (33.7 in). Its total length – in comparison to its wingspan – is restricted by its relatively short tail.

Published measurements include mass about 182.

Range and habitat

The martial eagle can be found in most of sub-Saharan Africa, wherever food is abundant and the environment favourable. With a total estimated distribution of about 26,000 km2 (10,000 sq mi), it has a substantial distribution across Africa, giving it a somewhat broader range than other species there like the crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) and the Verreaux's eagle (Aquila verreauxii). From southern Niger and eastern Nigeria the species is distributed spottily through Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic as well as the northern, eastern, and southern portions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Diet and breeding

When not breeding, both mature eagles from a breeding pair may be found roosting on their own in some prominent tree up to several miles from their nesting haunt, probably hunting for several days in one area, until viable prey resources are exhausted, and then moving on to another area. Even so, martial eagles, especially adult birds, are typically devoted to less disturbed areas, both due to these typically offering more extensive prey selection and their apparent dislike for a considerable human presence.

Martial eagles tend to be very solitary and are not known to tolerate others of the own species in the area outside of the pair during the breeding season. Martial eagles may breed in various months in the different parts of their range.

In crisis

It is one of few eagle species known to hunt primarily from a high soar, by stooping on its quarry. This species, an inhabitant of wooded belts of otherwise open savanna, has shown a precipitous decline in the last few centuries due to a variety of factors. Currently, the martial eagle is classified with the status of Endangered by the IUCN.

Its conservation status was uplisted to Near Threatened in 2009 and to Vulnerable in 2013, and once again to Endangered in 2020. In many areas where they come into contact with humans, eagle populations have decreased greatly through persecution via shooting and poisoning.

CITES lists this taxon on Appendix II. Confirm the current appendix on the CITES checklist.

Martial Eagle is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Martial Eagle, Wikidata item Q501733. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.