African Fish-Eagle Transcript-1279

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BirdNote®

Africa’s Fishing Eagle

Written by Dennis Paulson

BirdNote, in partnership with Seattle Audubon.
[African Fish-Eagle call]
The call of the African Fish-Eagle is one of the most memorable bird sounds of Africa. You are likely to hear it at lakes, rivers, and the seashore, almost anywhere south of the Sahara, as this bird thrives wherever there are fish to capture. Like its relative the Bald Eagle, the Fish-Eagle enjoys a varied diet, including water birds up to the size of flamingos and carrion of all sorts. It’s prone to piracy, easily snatching a fish from any other bird that has the bad luck to catch one under the eagle’s watchful gaze. Even huge Goliath Herons and Saddle-billed Storks are attacked.
[African Fish-Eagle call]
Both sexes make this loud call, declaring their territory far and wide. The larger female has a deeper voice, and the pair often calls in synchrony, an unmatched eagle duet. [African Fish-Eagle duet] At nesting time, the pair soars with deep, graceful wing-flaps, high above the nesting territory, each bird calling with head thrown back.
Many travel to Africa to see the continent’s more famous wildlife [Elephant trumpet]. But if you go, don’t miss the spectacular African Fish-Eagle.
 You can watch a video of an African Fish-Eagle in action, when you come to our web site, BirdNote.org. Oh, and drop us a line when you’re there, and let us know what you think of BirdNote!
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Call of the African Fish-Eagle provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by M. North.
Ambient sounds by Kessler Productions.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2007 Tune In to Nature.org

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