Lophaetus occipitalis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The long-crested eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis) is an African bird of prey characterised by its shaggy crest of feathers. In the family Accipitridae which includes all the eagles, it is currently placed in a monotypic genus Lophaetus. It is found throughout mid- and southern Africa, with differing home ranges due to food availability and suitable habitat area, but lives mainly on forest edges and near moist areas. Breeding may occur at any time of year, depending on food availability; it lays 1 or 2 eggs as is usual for raptors. It commonly eats smaller mammals, but will also eat other vertebrates and invertebrates.
The long-crested eagle is a distinctive eagle when perched due to the long, shaggy crest and all dark plumage often called Kamusungu-sungu in Uganda. The adults are blackish-brown with long, thin feathers growing from the rear of the crown which are held erect to form a crest. The secondary feathers are black barred with light grey and with broad black tips, the primary feathers and median underwing coverts are white, forming a noticeable white patch on the upper and lower surfaces of the wing which is visible in flight. The tail is black, barred with pale... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 2 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 6 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 2 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | World Bird Sanctuary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Dullstroom Bird Of Prey & Rehabilitation Centre | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Long-crested Eagle sighting in Johannesburg on a given day, based on 122 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 101st most-seen of the 219 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.
July
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Long-crested Eagle in Johannesburg on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months. That is one of Johannesburg's driest months, with almost no rain against 130 mm in December.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Long-crested 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.
4th of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Long-crested Eagle sightings, Johannesburg ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kigali (Rwanda, about 40%), Harare (Zimbabwe, about 10%) and Kampala (Uganda, about 10%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Long-crested Eagle that you can see in Johannesburg (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Black-winged Kite (about 10%) and Verreaux's Eagle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Long-crested Eagle is recorded against all the birds logged in Johannesburg (122 verified sightings), 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.
