Verreaux's Eagle
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
| Verreaux's Eagle | ||||||||||||||
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| Aquila verreauxii Lesson, 1830 |
Verreaux's Eagle (Aquila verreauxii), also known as the African Black Eagle or Black Eagle, is a large bird of prey. This eagle is a resident breeder throughout Africa, especially sub-saharan Africa, and can usually be found in mountainous regions.
It is about 75-95cm in length, weighs 4-5kg and has a wingspan of up to 2.5m. It is generally black in colour with a distinct white V marking on its back. Juveniles are usually light and dark brown in colour with a black face.
It is highly territorial and can often be seen with another Verreaux's Eagle, with whom it mates for life. The pair will lay 2 creamy white eggs, 4 days apart in Autumn, and these will hatch approximately 45 days later.
It is a specialist hunter with hyraxes (or dassies) making up most of its diet. The size of its territory often inversely reflects the size of the local hyrax population.he:עיט שחור
