Long-crested Eagle
Lophaetus occipitalis
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderAccipitriformes
- FamilyAccipitridae (Accipítrids)
- GenusLophaetus
- SpeciesLophaetus occipitalis (Long-crested Eagle)
The long-crested eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis) is an African bird of prey characterised by its shaggy crest of feathers. In the family Accipitridae which includes all the eagles, it is currently placed in a monotypic genus Lophaetus. It is found throughout mid- and southern Africa, with differing home ranges due to food availability and suitable habitat area, but lives mainly on forest edges and near moist areas. Breeding may occur at any time of year, depending on food availability; it lays 1 or 2 eggs as is usual for raptors. It commonly eats smaller mammals, but will also eat other vertebrates and invertebrates. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Lower Zambezi National Park
African Fish-Eagle
Haliaeetus vocifer
Bateleur
Terathopius ecaudatus
White-backed Vulture
Gyps africanus
African Harrier-Hawk
Polyboroides typus
Hooded Vulture
Necrosyrtes monachus
Black Kite
Milvus migrans
Martial Eagle
Polemaetus bellicosus
Brown Snake Eagle
Circaetus cinereus
Lappet-faced Vulture
Torgos tracheliotos
White-headed Vulture
Trigonoceps occipitalis
Fasciated Snake Eagle
Circaetus fasciolatus
Tawny Eagle
Aquila rapax
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Long-crested Eagle at Lower Zambezi National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there