📸 PhotoPhoto: Mehmet Karatay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
African Fish Eagle
Icthyophaga vocifer (African Fish Eagle · サンショクウミワシ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its body length of 25–30 inches (about 64–76 cm) is slightly longer than a folded umbrella (about 60 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 According to the Los Angeles Zoo, its hunting success rate is only about 10%, so it sometimes steals prey from other birds even when not hungry.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The African Fish Eagle is a bird of prey living near freshwater rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in Africa. Because of its loud, far-carrying call, it is nicknamed "the voice of Africa."
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body length is 25–30 inches (about 64–76 cm), and zoo accounts note that females are heavier than males and have a wider wingspan. It resembles North America's Bald Eagle, which is cited as a good example of convergent evolution.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It prefers fish above all, but also eats amphibians, waterbirds, small mammals, and carrion. Pairs bond for life, reuse the same nest for several years, and lay 2 eggs that are incubated for about 45 days.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2020) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22695115/174556979
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 174556979
- • wikidata.org — Q217497
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:African fish eagle just caught fish.jpg
- • lazoo.org — african-fish-eagle
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Robert Cooke · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Accipitridae)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.