Category: Birds of Prey
Location: Foot Safari
ABOUT BATELEUR EAGLES
The Bateleur Eagle, also known simply as the Bateleur, is a medium-sized eagle and the only member of the genus Terathopius. It has long wings and a very short tail, making it unmistakable in flight. Spending much of the day soaring, it hunts over a territory of 250 square miles (650km). The adult male has black plumage except for the chestnut mantle and tail, grey shoulders, and red facial skin, bill and legs.
The female is similar to the male except that she has grey rather than black secondary flight feathers. Immature birds are brown with white dappling and have greenish facial skin. It takes them seven or eight years to reach full maturity. It nests in trees, laying a single egg which is incubated by the female for 42 to 43 days, with a further 90 to 125 days until fledging.