Acrobat Eagle

Description

The Acrobat Eagle is a colourful species of eagle with a very short tail, making it unmistakable in flight. The male has black plumage except for the chestnut mantle and tail, grey shoulders, and exposed red facial skin, bill and legs. The female is similar to the male except that she is slightly bigger and has grey rather than black secondary flight feathers.

The Acrobat Eagle is generally silent, but on occasions it produces a variety of barks and screams. Its name comes from the bird’s characteristic habit of rocking its wings from side to side when flying, as if catching its balance on a tightrope.

Range

The Acrobat Eagle ranges over the deserts of the South and the savannahs of the Southeast, though it shies away from deeper desert expanses. It also has a smaller presence northward along the coast into the River Province.

Reproduction

The Acrobat Eagle nests in trees, laying a single egg which is incubated by the female until fledging. Acrobat Eagles wait until adulthood until mating, and pair for life, and will use the same nest for a number of years. Unpaired birds from previous clutches will often help at the nest. Immature birds are brown with white dappling and have greenish facial skin. It takes them seven or eight years to reach full maturity.

Diet

The eagle hunts over a territory of 250 square miles a day. Prey is mostly birds, including Doves and grouse, as well as small mammals and carrion.

Cultural Significance

In ancient texts, the Acrobat Eagle is sometimes referred to as the Southern Eagle.