The Martial Eagle

By Connor Gjurasic

Distribution and Habitat• Distribution in Southern half of Africa

• Flat land is usually needed for their habitat

• Prefer semi-desert and sub-Sahara

• Other habitats are open woodland and wooded savanna

• They stay close from 1,000 miles to 3,000 miles in sea level

Classification• Scientific name- Polemaetus Bellicosus

• Family- Accipatrade (Which means curved bills and eats small mammals and insects)

• Order- Falconiformes (group of 304 species with curved bills and sharp talons)

• Class- Aves (around 10,000 species of Aves and only animals with feathers)

• Phylum- chordate(has four features: pharyngeal slits, dorsal nerve cord, notochord, and post-anal hole)

• Kingdom- Animalia(means multicellular)

Conservation Status• Near endangered at 30,000 Martial Eagles

• Population dropped 20% in last three generations and is declining

• Main reason for loss in population is because of farmers

• Farmers blame the Martial Eagles for the loss of their livestock, the reason of this is because the presence of a Martial Eagle shows a nutritious environment

• Martial Eagles rarely even hunt livestock

• Farmers kill the eagles by shooting or poisoning them

• They drown in steep farming reservoirs

• Also the Martial Eagle dies by collision with telephone wires and pylons

Physical Characteristics• Pelage- Feathers

• Pelage is the coat of an animal such as fur, skin, hair, and feathers

• Biggest African Eagle

• Length- 76-83 cm

• Wingspan- 190-260 cm

• Weight- 7-14 lbs

• Black head

• Yellow eyes

• Dark black beak

• Dark brown back

• White chest with black spots

• Dark brown wings

• White legs and feet

• Large black talons

• Young Martial Eagles are whiter than adults

• Female is larger than the male

• Dark brown barred tail

• Young Martial Eagles are whiter than adults

Reproductive characteristics• These eagles don’t have a mating dance

• Martial Eagles are monogamous(one Martial Eagle only has one mate for life)

• When they have mating periods both the male and female will make a loud cry ”kwi-kwi-kluee-kluee” in the nest.

• Females lay only one egg a year ,but rarely they lay two a year

• Incubation is 45 days

Parental care• Hatchlings are active in 20 days

• The young Martial Eagle leaves the nest at 6 months

• The father brings food to the mother for her to give to the young eagle

• The mother watchers over the young

• Nests can be on a tree or a tall man-made structure

• The nests are 20 to 80 ft high

• Materials for the nest are large wood sticks and leaves that line the sticks

• The diameter of the nest is 4 to 6 ft and is 4 ft thick

• The eagles create more than one nest and are used every year

Longevity and Morality• Longevity is 30 years in protective care

• Only 16 years in the wild for both male and female

• Mortality is mostly from direct or indirect persecution

• Direct persecution is from farmers killing them

• Indirect persecution is from drowning in steep farming reservoirs and collision with telephone poles and wires

• In South Africa there are a few facilities to protect the Martial Eagle from being endangered

Diet • Eat medium sized mammals such as monkeys, impala, goats,

lambs, mongoose, European Stork, other birds, snakes, lizards, and warthogs

Predators • Doesn’t have any animal predators except maybe a leopard

steeling an egg from a nest

• Farmers are the main threat to the Martial Eagle

• The Martial Eagle has lost most of its population because of farmers shooting or poisoning them

• Tall manmade objects such as telephone poles have been an issue also

• Another threat is because the loss of their habitat from destruction

• People propose to make farming awareness programs for the farmers loss of stalk and anti-electrocution devices on telephone pylons

Human interactions• Martial Eagles try to stay away from humans because of the

human persecution

• There is a small quantity of people that have a Martial Eagle for falconry

Interesting facts• Strongest African eagle

• The Martial Eagle can knock a man off their feet

• Their talons are strong enough to break a man’s arm bone

• The height of a Martial Eagle flying in the sky is barley able to be seen with binoculars

• To keep clean they bathe daily

Works cited"Birds of Prey-The Martial Eagle." Hub Pages. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

<http://bdegiulio.hubpages.com/hub/Birds-of-Prey-The-Martial-Eagle>.

Boshoff, A. F. "Martial Eagle." The Atlas of Southern African Birds 1 (1997).

"Martial Eagle." Amazing Animals of the World. Grolier Online, 2013.Web. 25 Feb. 2013.

"Martial Eagle." Martial Eagle- Pictuers and Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

<http://thewebsiteofeverything.com/animals/birds/Falconiformes/Accipitridae/Polemaetu

s-bellicosus>.

"Martial Eagle." Oiseaux-Birds. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. <http://www.oiseaux-

birds.com/home-page.html>.

"Martial Eagle Polemaetus Bellicosus." Bird Life International. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

<http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3547>.

"Martial Eagle (Polemaetus Bellicosus)." Globally Threatened Bird Forums. N.p., n.d. Web. 26

Feb. 2013. <http://www.birdlife.org/globally-threatened-bird-forums/2013/01/martial-

eagle-polemaetus-bellicosus-uplist-to-vulnerable-or-endangered/>.

"Martial Eagles." Avian Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

<http://www.avianweb.com/martialeagles.html>.

Siyabona Africa. Kruger National Park, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

<http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_martial_eagle.html>.

Thank you