Hieraaetus wahlbergi
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Wahlberg's eagle (Hieraaetus wahlbergi) is a bird of prey that is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is a seasonal migrant in the woodlands and savannas. It is named after the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.
Wahlberg's eagle is a medium-sized raptor, and the sexes are similar. It is about 53–61 cm (21–24 in) in length with a wingspan of 130–146 cm (51–57 in) and a body mass of 437–845 g (15.4–29.8 oz) for males and 670–1,400 g (24–49 oz) for females on average. The head has a small crest, and the legs are yellow. The plumage tone is variable but may be dark brown except for dark-streaked grey undersides to the flight feathers, and a barred grey undertail. Light and dark plumage phases occur. A pale variant may be much lighter brown with whitish, rather than grey undertail and flight feather undersides. The pale variant is much less common than the darker variant.
Wahlberg's eagle is distributed from central Chad to the north-east coast of South Africa. Its western boundary is thought to be Cameroon, although it most commonly occurs further east across the continent... Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Wahlberg's Eagle sighting in Chobe National Park on a given day, based on 51 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 204th most-seen of the 373 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Wahlberg's Eagle in Chobe National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, April–September and November, the lowest months. That is one of Chobe National Park's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain against almost none in May.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Wahlberg's Eagle sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
31st of 39
Of the 39 parks where we can rate Wahlberg's Eagle sightings, Chobe National Park ranks 31st at under 5%. The best odds are in Kruger National Park (South Africa, about 30%), uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 30%) and Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Wahlberg's Eagle is recorded against all the birds logged in Chobe National Park (51 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.
