Hieraaetus wahlbergi
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
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 South Luangwa National Park on a given day, based on 32 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 176th most-seen of the 257 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and December–March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Wahlberg's Eagle in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–September and November, the lowest months. Those are among South Luangwa National Park's wettest months, with about 190 mm of rain a month against almost none in September.
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.
30th of 39
Of the 39 parks where we can rate Wahlberg's Eagle sightings, South Luangwa National Park ranks 30th 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%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Wahlberg's Eagle that you can see in South Luangwa National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are African Fish-Eagle (about 50%), Bateleur (about 30%) and White-backed Vulture (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Wahlberg's Eagle is recorded against all the birds logged in South Luangwa National Park (32 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.
