Verreaux's Eagle (Aquila verreauxii) lives in mountainous terrain across Southern Africa. It feeds on hyraxes and rodents. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Verreaux's Eagle
- A single Verreaux's eagle can lift a rock hyrax weighing up to 5.5 kg, sometimes heavier than the eagle itself, and still fly back to its nest in minutes. The Cape hyrax averages 3.14 kg, while the yellow-spotted rock hyrax averages 2.4 kg, yet both are regular prey. This power comes from a foot pad 20 % wider than a golden eagle's and a hallux claw averaging 52.3 mm in females, allowing the eagle to grip the bulky, broad-backed prey. Such strength lets the eagle thrive where hyraxes abound, tying its fate to these mammals.
- When hunting, Verreaux's eagles use a rapid, twisting dive from low-level quartering flight, often surprising a hyrax in just a few seconds. They may also hunt cooperatively: one eagle distracts while its partner strikes from behind. In the Matobo Hills, only two kills were observed in ten years of constant monitoring, yet diet studies show 98 % of prey were hyraxes, with an estimated 400 hyraxes taken per breeding pair each year. This efficiency highlights a finely tuned predatory technique centered on surprise and teamwork.
- The adult Verreaux's eagle's wings form a distinctive V-shaped dihedral, the only other Aquila species to do so is the golden eagle. With a wingspan of 1.81-2.3 m and broad outer secondaries, the wings are described as paddle- or leaf-shaped, giving the bird superb maneuverability among cliffs and kopjes. This wing morphology, combined with feathered tarsi, lets the eagle glide close to rock faces, using terrain contours to hide its approach, a key advantage in the steep, dry habitats where it lives.
- Verreaux's eagles are among the most specialized raptors, with rock hyraxes making up over 90 % of their diet in many regions, 99.1 % of 1,550 prey items in Zimbabwe's Matobo Hills (1995-2003) and 99.1 % of 224 items from Serengeti nests. Even where hyraxes decline, the eagles switch to a diverse menu of over 100 recorded species, but such shifts are rare and usually signal poor hyrax availability. Their tight dietary link makes hyrax conservation essential for the eagle's long-term survival.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSouthern Africa
HabitatMountainous terrain
DietHyraxes and rodents
About the Verreaux's Eagle
In the majestic mountains and rocky outcrops of southern Africa, the Verreaux's Eagle soars with haunting elegance, its dark, slate-grey plumage glistening like the stone it inhabits. With wings outstretched, it rides the thermal currents with effortless precision, a master of the updrafts and turbulence that shape its domain. As it banks and turns, the eagle's piercing cry echoes through the landscape, a primal declaration of its sovereignty over this unforgiving yet breathtakingly beautiful realm.
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