Lophaetus occipitalis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
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 |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Long-crested Eagle sighting in Meru National Park on a given day, based on 33 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 94th most-seen of the 243 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and October–November
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Long-crested Eagle in Meru National Park on a given day, against about 10% in February–March and September, the lowest months. Those are among Meru National Park's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain a month against almost none in July. May and July–August have too few records to rate.
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.
6th of 39
Of the 39 parks where we can rate Long-crested Eagle sightings, Meru National Park ranks 6th at about 20%. The best odds are in Lake Nakuru National Park (Kenya, about 50%), Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda, about 50%) and Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Long-crested Eagle that you can see in Meru National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Bateleur (about 50%), Eastern Chanting-Goshawk (about 50%) and Tawny Eagle (about 30%), 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 Meru National Park (33 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.
