Kites, Old World Vultures, Eagles, and Hawks
African Fish Eagle
Haliaeetus vocifer
- Length
- 63–75 cm
- Family
- Kites, Old World Vultures, Eagles, and Hawks (Accipitridae)
- Order
- Accipitriformes
Overview
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.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Diet: Mainly fish snatched from the surface.
How to identify it
- White head, breast and tail with a chestnut belly
- Bare yellow face and yellow feet
- Often perches on a tall tree above water
Voice
Loud, ringing 'weee-ah, hyo-hyo', often as a duet: one of Africa's signature sounds.
Where to see it
- Lake Naivasha, Kenya
- Okavango Delta, Botswana
Destination guides featuring this bird
- JJanuary: Good
- FFebruary: Good
- MMarch: Good
- AApril: Poor or no data
- MMay: Poor or no data
- JJune: Best
- JJuly: Best
- AAugust: Best
- SSeptember: Best
- OOctober: Best
- NNovember: Good
- DDecember: Good
- JJanuary: Best
- FFebruary: Best
- MMarch: Poor or no data
- AApril: Poor or no data
- MMay: Poor or no data
- JJune: Best
- JJuly: Best
- AAugust: Best
- SSeptember: Best
- OOctober: Good
- NNovember: Poor or no data
- DDecember: Good
Range and habitat
Continents
Countries
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Côte d'Ivoire
- DR Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Republic of the Congo
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: African fish eagle
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
