Species profile
About the long-crested eagle
The long-crested eagle is one of the easiest African raptors to identify: sooty black with a floppy crest of long feathers that flutters in the wind, bright yellow eyes and feet, and conspicuous white wing patches in flight.
It is a rodent specialist and a still-hunter, spending long periods motionless on a roadside perch above grassland before dropping onto prey. The forested rim and grassland edges of the Ngorongoro highlands, Arusha National Park and Manyara are excellent for it.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
A patient perch hunter that watches grassland below for long spells, then drops steeply. Calls a loud, repeated scream in flight.
Social life
Monogamous pairs holding a modest territory; both birds may hunt within sight of each other.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
A crest of up to six long, loose feathers that can be raised or laid flat, and white wing panels that flash in flight.
