Aquila spilogaster
Silhouette: Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The African hawk-eagle (Aquila spilogaster) is a large bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. This species' feathered legs mark it as a member of the Aquilinae subfamily. The African hawk-eagle breeds in tropical Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a bird of assorted woodland, including both savanna and hilly areas, but they tend to occur in woodland that is typically dry. The species tends to be rare in areas where their preferred habitat type is absent. This species builds a stick nest of around 1 m (3.3 ft) across in a large tree. The clutch is generally one or two eggs. The African hawk-eagle is powerfully built and hunts small to medium-sized mammals and birds predominantly, occasionally taking reptiles and other prey as well. The call is a shrill kluu-kluu-kluu. The African hawk-eagle is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, but a study in 2024 showed that this species is experiencing a severe population decline of ~91%, suggesting it be listed as critically endangered.
The African eagle is a member of the Aquilinae or booted eagles. This is a rather monophyletic subfamily of approximately 38 species are classified in the subfamily, all bearing... Wikipedia →
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Ethiopia · 2015
© Andrew Spencer · XC267752 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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Tanzania · 2014
© Thibaut Chansac · XC194777 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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South Africa · 2026
© Sascha Schumann · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dullstroom Bird Of Prey & Rehabilitation Centre | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Hawk-Eagle sighting in Pilanesberg National Park on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 204th most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Hawk-Eagle in Pilanesberg National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months. That is one of Pilanesberg National Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 130 mm in December.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Hawk-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.
30th of 37
Of the 37 parks where we can rate African Hawk-Eagle sightings, Pilanesberg National Park ranks 30th at under 5%. The best odds are in Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 30%), Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 30%) and Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Hawk-Eagle is recorded against all the birds logged in Pilanesberg National Park (18 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.
