Martial Eagle
Polemaetus bellicosus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderAccipitriformes
- FamilyAccipitridae (Accipítrids)
- GenusPolemaetus (Martial Eagles)
- SpeciesPolemaetus bellicosus (Martial Eagle)
The martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only member of the genus Polemaetus. A species of the booted eagle subfamily (Aquilinae), it has feathers over its tarsus. One of the largest and most powerful species of booted eagle, it is a fairly opportunistic predator that varies its prey selection between mammals, birds and reptiles. It is one of few eagle species known to hunt primarily from a high soar, by stooping on its quarry. This species, an inhabitant of wooded belts of otherwise open savanna, has shown a precipitous decline in the last few centuries due to a variety of factors. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Table Mountain National Park
Jackal Buzzard
Buteo rufofuscus
Common Buzzard
Buteo buteo
Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk
Accipiter rufiventris
African Harrier-Hawk
Polyboroides typus
Black Kite
Milvus migrans
Booted Eagle
Hieraaetus pennatus
Forest Buzzard
Buteo trizonatus
White-backed Vulture
Gyps africanus
Brown Snake Eagle
Circaetus cinereus
Western Marsh-Harrier
Circus aeruginosus
Black-winged Kite
Elanus caeruleus
African Fish-Eagle
Haliaeetus vocifer
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Martial Eagle at Table Mountain 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