Ayres's Hawk-Eagle

About the Ayres's Hawk-Eagle

Ayres's hawk-eagle (Hieraaetus ayresii), or Ayres' eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is native to African woodlands. Its name honours South African ornithologist Thomas Ayres. The adult male has blackish upper parts that are mottled with white and usually has a white forehead and supercilium. The upper-wing coverts are similar. The tail is ashy grey with a broad black tip and three to four narrower dark bars. Primary feathers and secondary feathers are black. The underparts are white, with heavy dark brown spots and blotches on the breast and belly, becoming sparser on the thighs and vent. The legs are well-feathered and pure white. The under-wing coverts are brown and marked with white, and the underside of flight feathers is dark and heavily barred lacking any noticeable grey patch. The eyes are yellow to orange, the cere and feet yellow, and the bill is bluish horn coloured becoming paler towards the base, with a black tip. This species has a small but at times pronounced crest. The males are smaller than the females, darker and usually more densely spotted on the underparts, and have a smaller amount of white on the forehead and... Wikipedia →