Lord of the Skies

Bateleur eagle (Terathopius ecaudatus).

Dimensions in cm: 46 x 36 x 78

Edition: 3 of 40

The Lain and Greek name for a Bateleur is Terathopius Ecaudatus which means “marvellous face, lacking a tail”.

Bateleur is French for “ tightrope – walker “ and was probably given to this eagle because of its distinct way of flying.

The name was given to the eagle by an early explorer named Levaillant.

It is a snake eagle as it has bare legs ( true eagles have the legs all feathered down to the feet )

The juvenile is all brown and can be confused with other brown eagles.

Seeing a Bateleur flying in the African bushveld is a marvellous sight but sadly it is only found in protected areas today.

They spend most of the day flying at 50-80 km/ hr searching for food, they are usually the first to find a carcass, and cover about 400 kilometres per day.