Description

Image of the African Fish Eagle is available from stock

The African fish eagle is a species placed in the genus Haliaeetus (sea eagles). Its closest relative appears to be the critically endangered Madagascar fish eagle (H. vociferoides). Like all sea eagle species pairs, this one consists of a white-headed species (the African fish eagle) and a tan-headed one (Madagascar fish eagle). These are an ancient lineage of sea eagles; like other sea eagles, they have dark talons, beaks, and eyes Both species have at least partially white tails even as juveniles. The scientific name is derived from Haliaeetus, New Latin for “sea eagle” (from the Ancient Greek haliaetos), and vocifer is derived from its original genus name, so named by the French naturalist François Levaillant, who called it ‘the vociferous one’.