Talon

Crowned eagles (Stephanoaetus coronatus)
Dimensions in cm: 1m x 1m x ?

Editions:

Stand: Ironwood plinth

The sculpture shows crest feathers raised, normally these feathers lie flat on the head and are only raised when the eagle is threatened or excited

The Crowned Eagle, Stephanoaetus Coronatus ( Stephanos is Greek for crown and Aeros is Greek for eagle, Coranatos is Latin and means crowned ) is the most powerful raptor in Africa. The word raptor comes from the Latin word rapere which means seized.

Also called The Flying Leopard and the Reagle Eagle

This eagle is a denizen of the forest and considered by many, myself included, to be the most spectacular.

This eagle is well suited to capturing forest prey and its main method of hunting is to still hunt. This entails perching on a branch waiting for suitable prey to pass below.

Their prey is predominately mammals including monkeys, dassies (rock hyrax), thick-tailed galagos, small antelope and game birds. In urban areas, they have been known to prey on small dogs and cats. There is an infamous pair that live in Pietermaritzburg and are well known for catching people’s pets.

In one nest in the Matopas reserve in Zimbabwe, a skull of a small child was found.

They have enormous talons ( amongst the largest in the world ) and their feet are immensely powerful.

Seeing a Crowned Eagle in the wild is an awesome sight and it remains one of my favourite birds.