Verreaux's eagle is a very large eagle. It measures 75 to 96 cm (30 to 38 in) long from the bill to the tip of the tail, making it the sixth longest eagle in the world. Males can weigh 3 to 4.2 kg (6.6 to 9.3 lb) and the larger females weigh 3.1 to 7 kg (6.8 to 15.4 lb). The average weight is approximately 4.19 kg (9.2 lb). It is the seventh or eighth heaviest living eagle in the world. In average mass and overall weight range, if not linear measurements, the Verreaux's is very similar in size to its occasional competitor, the martial eagle, which is regularly titled the largest of the African eagle. It also rivals the martial and golden eagles as the largest extant member of the "booted eagle" clan. It has a wingspan of 1.81 to 2.3 m (5 ft 11 in to 7 ft 7 in). The wing chord of the male is 56.5 to 59.5 cm (22.2 to 23.4 in) and that of the female is 59 to 64 cm (23 to 25 in). Among other standard measurements in the Verreaux's eagles, both sexes measure 27.2 to 36 cm (10.7 to 14.2 in) in tail length and 9.5 to 11 cm (3.7 to 4.3 in) in tarsus length. Other than the female’s slight size advantage, adult males and females are physically indistinguishable from each other. Adult Verreaux's eagles are mostly jet-black in color. The yellow coloration of the cere (the bill is gun-metal grey), eye-ring and “eye-brows”, all stand out in contrast to the black plumage. Even more prominent on flying birds when seen from above is the white on the back, rump and upper-tail coverts and part of the scapulars, which forms a V-shaped patch, although this feature is partially obscured in perched birds. Adults also have conspicuous white windows on the wing quills at the carpal joint (at the base of the primaries) when seen flying both from above and below. The bill is stout, the head is prominent on the relatively long neck and the legs are fully feathered. - From Wikipedia
I'm from Tulbagh, Western Cape, South Africa. Tulbagh is a small farming community.
Get Pushed Challenge: I have been doing this challenge on and off...
@ericdibosco I too have had the privilege of seeing them in the wild. Despite it being sad to see one in captivity, it's a wonderful experience to see one close up. You can pay extra and have the opportunity to hold the bird. We didn't take up the offer as it was fairly busy when we were there.
Beautiful bird and photo. Yes the eye makes the picture. When they do look at our photos here, this is one of the things they look at. The eye must be open, look towards you and if it caught light like yours it is a bonus. Not a negative suggestion but just check the following...Crop the photo just above the head and a little bit on the left hand side and see how that eye "pops" out of the picture. I think the yellow spot above the birds eye draws attention. Sorry this is just my idea and not negative!
I checked where you stay. In SA. Suppose you did check FOTOSKOOL before. This is where prof Hennie Cronje judge the photos and taught us a little but of judging. But the photo is a WOW!
