Bateleur

The tail-less patron of the African Skies

Image by Author

‘Few human experiences are more uplifting and exhilarating than watching an eagle ride a high wind. Few sights usher the word ‘magnificent’ more readily to our lips than a close-up view of a perched eagle, with its penetrating eyes and proud bearing. And the aerial athletics of hunting eagles excite and thrill us’ — Johann Knobel, Eagles of Africa.

No eagle epitomizes this more so than the Bateleur.

Closely related to the snake eagles, this unique raptor is one of the most colourful eagles. The male and female look much more different from each other, as compared to the other large raptors. Most obvious in flight, the male has half the underwing white and the other half black; the female has a mostly white underwing.

A sighting of these acrobatic birds is always special, even though they are still pleasantly common in conservation areas throughout Africa.

I still remember the sighting of when I took the photograph above. We were in the Kruger National Park, stopped on a bridge over the Sabie River. A small speck in the distance grew larger as the bird approached, flying low over the water.

The characteristic ‘rocking’ flight immediately told us it was a Bateleur, and we got great views as she banked over the river near where we were stopped. There was an…