Habitat
Open woodland, wooded savanna, bushy grassland, thornbush and, in southern Africa, more open country and even subdesert. From sea level - 3,000 m, but mainly below 1,500 m.
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Vagrant to Liberia.
Senegambia east to Ethiopia and south to South Africa.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 30,000 (2010) and decreasing.
Status VU
Direct persecution (shooting and trapping) by farmers, indirect poisoning, drowning in sheer-walled reservoirs, electrocution on power poles, and habitat alteration and degradation are the main threats.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) [XC392028]
by Lynette Rudman from Emangusi (near Makhaya), North Uthungulu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (flight call)
Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) [XC403625]
by isaac kilusu from Somerset East, Western District, Eastern Cape, South Africa (call)
Subspecies
Monotypic genus, but may be better placed in genus Hieraaetus, on grounds of strong skeletal evidence.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet