Aquila verreauxii
Silhouette: Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Verreaux's eagle (Aquila verreauxii) is a large, mostly African, bird of prey. It is also called the black eagle, especially in southern Africa, not to be confused with the black eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis) of south and southeast Asia. The Verreaux's eagle lives in hilly and mountainous regions of southern and eastern Africa (extending marginally into Chad, Mali and Niger), and very locally in the Middle East.
Verreaux's eagle is one of the most specialized species of accipitrid in the world, with its distribution and life history revolving around its favorite prey species, the rock hyraxes. When hyrax populations decline, the species have been shown to survive with mixed success on other prey, such as small antelopes, gamebirds, hares, monkeys and other assorted vertebrates. Despite a high degree of specialization, Verreaux's eagle has, from a conservation standpoint, been faring relatively well in historic times. One population of this species, in the Matobo Hills of Zimbabwe, is arguably the best studied eagle population in the world, having been subject to continuous detailed study since the late 1950s. Like all eagles, this species belongs to the taxonomic order Accipitriformes (formerly included in Falconiformes) and the family Accipitridae, which may be referred to colloquially as accipitrids or raptors. Wikipedia →
Call1:00
South Africa · 2017
© Peter Boesman · XC392307 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Recording0:03
South Africa · 2023
© Marion Maclean · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:29
South Africa · 2021
© ryanderoo · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Bale Mountains National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 4 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 6 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 11 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 12 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 14 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 15 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 16 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 17 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 18 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 19 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 20 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 21 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zlín-Lešná Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Zoo Aquarium de Madrid | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Dullstroom Bird Of Prey & Rehabilitation Centre | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Cim d'Àligues | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Verreaux's Eagle sighting in Bale Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 66th most-seen of the 117 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and December–January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Verreaux's Eagle in Bale Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November, the lowest month. Those are among Bale Mountains National Park's driest months, with about 70 mm of rain a month against 230 mm in April. March and September have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Verreaux's Eagle sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 21
Of the 21 parks where we can rate Verreaux's Eagle sightings, Bale Mountains National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 40%) and Golden Gate Highlands National Park (South Africa, about 20%).
Same genus: Aquila
The closest relatives of the Verreaux's Eagle that you can see in Bale Mountains National Park (genus Aquila, True Eagles) are Steppe Eagle (about 30%), Tawny Eagle (about 30%) and Lesser Spotted Eagle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Verreaux's Eagle is recorded against all the birds logged in Bale Mountains National Park (17 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
