The Madagascar Fish-eagle

With only 222 birds now thought to be alive, the Madagascar Fish-eagle, Haliaeetus vociferoides, is one of the rarest of all raptors.

Endemic to the island of Madagascar, the Madagascar Fish-Eagle is primarily only found upon the northwest coastline of the island, although a secondary population can be found along the west coast. This is one reason as to why the eagle is classed as Critically Endangered. The coastline provides the Madagascar Fish-Eagle with the wooded areas, mangroves and estuary areas upon which the birds make the home. The tall trees normally found in such locations provide the birds with areas to roost, and also perches from which they can spot potential prey.

Madagascar fish-eagle - Charlesjsharp - CC-BY-SA-3.0

The Madagascar Fish-Eagle will primarily feed upon fish, and in particular tilapia. Fishing though is done by catching birds near to the surface of the water rather than having to dive in.

There has been a notable decrease in the population size of the Madagascar Fish-Eagle in the last fifty years, although it is also though that the eagle has never been particularly well represented number wise on the island.

Deforestation has proven to be the biggest recent threat to the survival of the bird, although an increase in fishing by locals has also reduced the food available to the eagle.

The Madagascar Fish-Eagle is not amongst the largest of raptors, and normally only measures 70cm to 80cm in length, with a corresponding wingspan of 200cm, making it a medium sized Fish Eagle. The female are slightly larger in length and weight, although the difference is not as pronounced as with other raptors. The eagle has a body and wings that is primarily a dark brown, with a hint of red. The tail and cheeks of the bird are white, although the rest of the head is a pale brown. Legs are grey and the bill of the bird is normally black.

Haliaeetus vociferoides -
John Gerrard Keulemans (1842–1912) - PD-art-100

The breeding season for the Madagascar Fish-Eagle will run from May through to October, at which time a pair of birds will find a cliff or large tree in which to build their nest. The normal clutch size is only two eggs, but as with many eagles the parents are only looking to raise one offspring and will ignore the second egg if the first successfully hatches. As with many of the rare Madagascan birds, the fledging rate for Madagascar Fish-Eagles is relatively low though, something which threatens future population levels.

Copyright - First Published 18th March 2010

Keywords - Madagascar Fish-eagle, Haliaeetus vociferoides