Diet
The African Fish Eagle feeds mainly on fish, which, upon spotting a potential prey item from a perch in a tree, it will swoop down upon and snatch the prey from the water with its large clawed talons. The eagle will then fly back to its perch to eat its catch.
Like other sea eagles, the African Fish Eagle has structures on its toes called spiricules that allows it to grasp fish and other slippery prey. The Osprey, a winter visitor to Africa, also has this adaptation. Should the African Fish Eagle catch a fish over 1.8 kg (4 pounds) it will be too heavy to allow the eagle to get lift, so it will instead drag the fish across the surface of the water until it reaches the shore. If it catches a fish that is too heavy to even allow the eagle to sustain flight, it will drop into the water and paddle to the nearest shore with its wings. The African Fish Eagle is known to rob other bird species (such as Goliath Herons) of their catch. This behaviour is known as kleptoparasitism. It will also feed on waterfowl such as ducks, small turtles and terrapins, baby crocodiles, Greater Flamingos and Lesser Flamingos, lizards such as Nile Monitors, frogs and carrion. Occasionally, it may even carry off mammalian prey, such as hyraxes and monkeys. It has also been observed feeding on domestic fowl (chickens).
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