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? Crowned Eagle Conservation status: Lower risk (cd)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Falconiformes Family: Accipitridae Genus: Stephanoaetus Sclater, 1922 Species: S. coronatus
Binomial name
Stephanoaetus coronatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Crowned Eagle range

The Crowned Eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) is a very large, powerful, crested bird of prey (80-90 cm approx) found in tropical Africa south of the Sahara; in Southern Africa a common resident in suitable habitat in the eastern areas. It is the only member of the genus Stephanoaetus. Image File history File links Clock-green. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Many - see section below. ... Families Accipitridae Pandionidae Falconidae Sagittariidae Cathartidae The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that include the diurnal birds of prey. ... Subfamilies Elaninae Perninae Milvinae Accipitrinae Buteoninae Aegypiinae Circinae Circaetinae The Accipitridae is one of the two main families within the order Falconiformes (the diurnal birds of prey). ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus Baba black sheep crowned patani queen Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as (help· info), and in English usually under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), the name with which his publications were signed, was a Swedish botanist and physician who laid... Orders Accipitriformes     Cathartidae     Pandionidae     Accipitridae     Sagittariidae Falconiformes     Falconidae A bird of prey or raptor is a bird that hunts its food, especially one that preys on mammals or other birds. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Southern Africa ... The term Eastern can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ...

Chiefly, it inhabits dense indigenous forests; its staple diet consists of monkeys (particularly those of the genus Chlorocebus) and other mammals up to 20 kg (44 lb), such as the Cape Hyrax and small antelope. To a far lesser extent, birds and monitor lizards are also taken, however 98% of the staple diet is mammalian. FOREST, which describes itself as the voice and friend of the smoker, is a United Kingdom political pressure group that campaigns for the right of people to smoke tobacco and opposes attempts to ban or reduce tobacco consumption, as well as casting doubt on medical claims of the health risks... Type species Chlorocebus aethiops Grivet Species Chlorocebus sabaceus Chlorocebus aethiops Chlorocebus djamdjamensis Chlorocebus tantalus Chlorocebus pygerythrus Chlorocebus cynosuros The vervet monkeys or green monkeys are primates from the family of Old World monkeys. ... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals primarily characterized by the presence of mammary... Binomial name Procavia capensis (Pallas, 1766) The Cape Hyrax (scientific name: Procavia capensis) is a species in the order Hyracoidea. ... Genera Aepyceros Alcelaphus Antidorcas Antilope Cephalophus Connochaetes Damaliscus Gazella Hippotragus Kobus Madoqua Neotragus Oreotragus Oryx Ourebia Pantholops Procapra Sylvicapra Taurotragus Tragelaphus and others The antelope are a group of herbivorous African or Asian animals of the family Bovidae, distinguished by a pair of hollow horns on their heads. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Families Many, see text. ...

While smaller than the Martial Eagle, the Crowned Eagle is reknowned as Africa's most powerful and ferocious eagle in terms of the weight and nature of prey taken. Due to their striking similarities, the Crowned Eagle is often considered Africa's analogue of the Harpy Eagle. Binomial name Polemaetus bellicosus (Daudin, 1800) Range of Martial Eagle The Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus), is Africas largest eagle, growing to a length of 76-83 cm. ... Genera Several, see below. ... Binomial name Harpia harpyja (Linnaeus, 1758) The name harpy eagle usually refers to the neotropical eagle, Harpia harpyja (see below for other birds called harpy eagles). ...

Data and facts

Identification

Dark grey upperparts with rufous/white below, belly and breasts are heavily mottled with black. This eagle has short, broad and rounded wings for added maneuverability in its environment. The rufous underwing coverts, strongly barred white/black outer wings and tail are all diagnostic in flight. The large crest (often raised), combined with this bird's very large size make the adult near-unmistakeable at suitable range. However, the juvenile is often confused with the juvenile Martial Eagle, especially in flight. The juvenile Crowned is distinguished from that species in having a much longer, more heavily barred tail, spotted legs and an all-white head. As with most large eagles, the female is larger than the male. The legs are are also extremely powerful and the Eagle possesses formidably large, strong talons, often used for killing and dismembering prey. Length: 80-90cm (32-36"). Wingspan: 1.5-2.1m (~ 5-7 ft). Weight 3.5-5.5kg (~ 8-12lb). Binomial name Polemaetus bellicosus (Daudin, 1800) Range of Martial Eagle The Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus), is Africas largest eagle, growing to a length of 76-83 cm. ... Talon may refer to several different things: Talon, Nièvre, a commune in the Nièvre département, in France the claw of a bird of prey a fictional class of Romulan starship in Star Trek the Eagle Talon, an automobile produced by the Eagle division of Chrysler a fictional...

Distribution

See Distribution Map

In Eastern Africa, the Crowned Hawk-eagles's range extends from southern Uganda and Kenya, forested parts of Tanzania, eastern Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and eastern South Africa about as far south as Knysna. A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. ... View over the lagoon, showing the Heads guarding the entrance to the sea Knysna (pronounced NIZE-nuh or NACE-nuh) is a town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. ...

Its range also extends westward about as far as Liberia, though its distribution is severely fragmented in these areas. The eagle is less prominent at the extremes of its range, being most populous between Zimbabwe and Tanzania; it is, however, restricted to denser vegetation and indigenous forests throughout its distribution.

Habitat

The Crowned Eagle inhabits dense indigenous and riverine forests (sometimes plantations), heavily wooded hillsides, dense woodland and rocky outcrops throughout its range, at an altitude of up to 11,000 ft. Owing to lack of suitable habitat (through deforestation and industrialisation), the eagle's range is discontinous. FOREST, which describes itself as the voice and friend of the smoker, is a United Kingdom political pressure group that campaigns for the right of people to smoke tobacco and opposes attempts to ban or reduce tobacco consumption, as well as casting doubt on medical claims of the health risks... A plantation is an intentional planting of a crop, on a larger scale, usually for uses other than cereal production or pasture. ... Limber Pine woodland, Toiyabe Range, central Nevada Biologically, a woodland is differentiated from a forest. ...

Conservation status

The Crowned Eagle is fairly common in suitable habitat, though its numbers show decline in sync with deforestation. It is far more common in protected areas and reserves than elswhere in its range, though is still recorded consistently outside of these areas. Its numbers are probably higher than modern suspicion might suggest, though invariably hinge on rates of deforestation, especially in the north of its range. Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forested. ...

Behavior

"The Crowned Eagle is normally sedentary and attached to the same area most of the year, but there is some evidence that the birds occasionally move some distance, as they must when changes of mates occur in isolated breeding sites." ^[1]

Diet

The Crowned Eagle's staple diet is 98% mammallian, with Vervet monkeys (amongst other smaller primates) being favorites. In suitable habitat the Eagle will also take Hyraxes and small Antelope such as Duiker. Prey weighing up to 20kg (44 lb) has been recorded. Quintessentially, an adult Crowned Eagle will only resort to hunting large wild fowls (such as Guineafowl), Monitor lizards and snakes when mammalian food sources are scarce, though this is uncommon. Juveniles and subadults, however, may take these lines of prey more frequently. Type species Chlorocebus aethiops Grivet Species Chlorocebus sabaceus Chlorocebus aethiops Chlorocebus djamdjamensis Chlorocebus tantalus Chlorocebus pygerythrus Chlorocebus cynosuros The vervet monkeys or green monkeys are primates from the family of Old World monkeys. ... Binomial name Procavia capensis (Pallas, 1766) The Cape Hyrax (scientific name: Procavia capensis) is a species in the order Hyracoidea. ... Genera Aepyceros Alcelaphus Antidorcas Antilope Cephalophus Connochaetes Damaliscus Gazella Hippotragus Kobus Madoqua Neotragus Oreotragus Oryx Ourebia Pantholops Procapra Sylvicapra Taurotragus Tragelaphus and others The antelope are a group of herbivorous African or Asian animals of the family Bovidae, distinguished by a pair of hollow horns on their heads. ... Genera Cephalophus Sylvicapra A duiker is any of about 19 small to medium-sized antelope species native to sub-Saharan Africa. ... A fowl is a bird of any kind, although some types of birds use the word specifically in their names (for example, Guineafowl and Peafowl). ... Genera  Agelastes  Numida  Guttera  Acryllium The guineafowl are a family of birds in the same order as the pheasants, turkeys and other game birds. ... Species Lesser Antillean Iguana, Green Iguana, Although iguana can refer to other members of the lizard family Iguanidae, this article concerns members of the genus Iguana. ... Superfamilies and Families Henophidia Aniliidae Anomochilidae Boidae Bolyeriidae Cylindrophiidae Loxocemidae Pythonidae Tropidophiidae Uropeltidae Xenopeltidae Typhlopoidea Anomalepididae Leptotyphlopidae Typhlopidae Xenophidia Acrochordidae Atractaspididae Colubridae Elapidae Hydrophiidae Viperidae Snakes (from Old English snaca, and ultimately from PIE base *snag- or *sneg-, to crawl), also known as ophidians, are cold blooded legless reptiles closely...

Being a forest-dwelling species, the Crowned Eagle has no need to travel great distances to hunt, nor employ a great deal of active hunting flight (such as soaring seen in Savanna-dwelling species). Rather, the Crowned Eagle tends to hunt passively; a soaring range of 4-10 miles is the norm and is only seldom exceeded. After flying above the canopy and locating a suitable hunting spot (sometimes by the call of the noisy Vervet monkey), the Eagle will wait on a perch, perhaps for a nearby troop of monkeys to be spotted. Following the sighting of suitable prey, the Eagle quickly and stealthily manouvers itself through the forest towards its prey, a certain element of surprise inherent in its final approach. The sharp, powerful talons may produce sufficient force to kill the prey on impact; if not, death from trauma or asphyxiation soon follows. Typically, the eagle can carry a mass roughly equal to its own (~ 3-6 kg) to its nest/perch; anything heavier is dismembered and returned to the nest/perch in pieces. Parts of larger prey are often cached for later consumption. Savanna is a grassland dotted with trees, and occurs in several types of biomes. ... Asphyxia is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body. ...

Breeding

Trivia

In April 1996 the world’s first captive born Crowned Eagle hatched at The San Diego Zoo. San Diego Zoo Entrance The world-famous San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California is one of the largest, most progressive zoos in the world. ...

Other names

Though the Crowned Eagle is indeed related to forest-dwelling Hawk Eagles, it is not a Hawk Eagle itself. However, popular misconceptions and confusion with the unrelated South American Crowned Solitary Eagle have led birders to refer to the Crowned Eagle as the Crowned Hawk-Eagle. This is, of course, erroneous and intended solely for the matter of disambiguation. South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

References

1. ^  The Hawk Conservancy Trust (link).