They are also willing to forsake their piscivorous diet for any number of vertebrates.
In times of scarcity, or when having to feed the family, African fish eagles will turn their talents and talons to stealing the catch of any unwary fisher. Known as kleptoparasites, fish eagles save the time and energy of the hunt by resorting to bullying other hard-working birds, such as saddle-billed storks, goliath herons or even other smaller raptors. The African fish eagle and the American bald eagle are closely related, with the only significant differences being their home continents and their calls. He does not get his living honestly.” ~ Benjamin Franklin “For my own part, I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. When it comes to ensuring that the brood is well-nourished they are willing to forsake the graceful aerial manoeuvres for a completely uneagle-like swim. Occasionally the size of the fish is both too tempting to ignore and too large to lift so swimming the butterfly stroke is called for – an overarm (wing) swimming style that enables this most resolute of birds to get his catch to shore. The first option is to fly just above the water and to drag, or plane, the fish to the shore and to devour it on the river bank. Life has a way of spoiling a plan and every now and then the fish is too large to be plucked from its watery home and so a backup plan is called for. The African fish eagle has a well-formulated hunting plan, observe from the high ground, swoop dramatically, grab dextrously and return to your nest with a family-sized fishy breakfast. The quintessential image of a fish eagle with talons outstretched has graced the covers of many magazines and is as much a part of Africa’s visual repertoire as Kilimanjaro and giant tuskers. The swoop-and-grab is an aerial manoeuvre perfected by this feathered fisher, so much so that they are regularly finished ‘fishing’ for the day by mid-morning. The preferred diet of the African fish eagle is, unsurprisingly, often found swimming just below the surface of the Zambezi River while the fish eagle suns itself nearby on the branch of some tall riverine tree. A primeval memory stirred by a call that has been described as ‘The sound of Africa’. Our shivering spine and erect hairs are a reminder of a long past time when we were the hunted. Once heard it remains trapped in our memories, a lonely plaintive wail that resounds across Africa.
Its singing voice is known throughout the world, the haunting screech that lingers in both the endless African sky and, somehow, in our souls. The mighty African fish eagle is a star of stage and screen, its film-star good looks giving it an air of superiority, its regal bearing leading us to fall head-over-heels. It was named by the French naturalist François Levaillant, who called it ‘the vociferous one’,
Derived from the ancient Greek words hali, “at sea” and aetos, “eagle” and vocifer, which refers to the vociferous call of this African eagle. The scientific classification of the African fish eagle, Haliaeetus vocifer, gives a clue to its nature.
The only thing I knew how to do Was to keep on keepin’ on Like a bird that flew Tangled up in blue.