African Fish-Eagle
Haliaeetus vocifer
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderAccipitriformes
- FamilyAccipitridae (Accipítrids)
- GenusHaliaeetus (Northern Sea-Eagles and Fish-Eagles)
- SpeciesHaliaeetus vocifer (African Fish-Eagle)
The African fish eagle (Icthyophaga vocifer) or the African sea eagle is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. As a result of its large range, it is known in many languages. Examples of names include: visarend in Afrikaans, nkwazi in Chewa, aigle pêcheur in French, idì in Yoruba, hungwe in Shona, inkwazi in isiZulu, and ntšhu in Northern Sotho. Though this species may superficially resemble the bald eagle in appearance they are not closely related and the two species occur on different continents, with the bald eagle being endemic to North America. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Nyungwe National Park
Augur Buzzard
Buteo augur
Black Kite
Milvus migrans
Mountain Buzzard
Buteo oreophilus
Cassin's Hawk-Eagle
Aquila africana
Long-crested Eagle
Lophaetus occipitalis
Crowned Eagle
Stephanoaetus coronatus
African Harrier-Hawk
Polyboroides typus
Common Buzzard
Buteo buteo
Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk
Accipiter rufiventris
Wahlberg's Eagle
Hieraaetus wahlbergi
European Honey-buzzard
Pernis apivorus
Lizard Buzzard
Kaupifalco monogrammicus
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of African Fish-Eagle at Nyungwe 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