The Martial Eagle is an impressively large eagle, with dark brown head, upper body and wings, a speckled white chest and powerful white legs, equipped with enormous deadly talons.
A few days ago, I was sitting on the balcony just after lunch when I heard the Dik-diks down below shriek out their warning whistles. As I looked up, a massive eagle swooped by me at eye-level, and before the Dik-diks were able to reach the safety of the undergrowth, the eagle hit one on the back of the head with the full force of its great weight and huge talons – and the little antelope was dead.
Probably nervous at being so close to our house, the Martial abandoned its kill almost immediately (though it stayed in sight, surveying the surroundings from a large baobab tree to make sure no other eagle stole its prize), and then at around 5.30pm, when things had quietened down, it returned to feed.
