CreatureData

Martial eagle

Polemaetus bellicosus (Daudin, 1800)

ENEndangeredbirds of prey

The martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 3.97 kg to 4.95 kg and live up to 19.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

Martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus)
Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the martial eagle

Weight
3.97 kg – 4.95 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
1.88 m – 2.27 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
19.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
25 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
52 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
4.5 years – 4.97 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the martial eagle?

MARTIAL EAGLE · WINGSPAN 2.27 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 2.27 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the martial eagle is about 1.3 times the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the martial eagle live?

Not recorded

What is the martial eagle?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only member of the genus Polemaetus. A species of the booted eagle subfamily (Aquilinae), it has feathers over its tarsus. One of the largest and most powerful species of booted eagle, it is a fairly opportunistic predator that varies its prey selection between mammals, birds and reptiles. It is one of few eagle species known to hunt primarily from a high soar, by swooping down on its quarry. This species, an inhabitant of wooded belts of otherwise open savanna, has shown a precipitous decline in the last few centuries due to a variety of factors. The martial eagle is one of the most persecuted bird species in the world. Due to its habit of taking livestock and regionally valuable game, local farmers and game wardens frequently seek to eliminate martial eagles, although the effect of eagles on this prey is almost certainly considerably exaggerated. Currently, the martial eagle is classified with the status of Endangered by the IUCN.

From the Wikipedia article “Martial eagle” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martial_eagle&oldid=1377340639), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the martial eagle endangered?

The martial eagle is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.

How is the martial eagle classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderAccipitriformes
  5. familyAccipitridae
  6. genusPolemaetus
  7. SpeciesPolemaetus bellicosus (Daudin, 1800)

Synonyms Falco bellicosus, Falco griffardus, Hieraaetus bellicosus, Polemaeetus bellicosus

Other names and names in other languages (38)
  • MAEAEnglish
  • BreëkoparendAfrikaans
  • LammervangerAfrikaans
  • عقاب مقاتلArabic
  • àguila marcialCatalan
  • orel bojovnýCzech
  • KampørnDanish
  • KampfadlerGerman
  • militagloEsperanto
  • Águila marcialSpanish
  • kuningkotkasEstonian
  • gasellikotkaFinnish
  • Aigle martialFrench
  • עיט לוחםHebrew
  • veliki oraoCroatian
  • vitézsasHungarian
  • Aquila marzialeItalian
  • Aquila crestata africanaItalian
  • ゴマバラワシJapanese
  • 잔점배무늬독수리Korean
  • karingasis erelisLithuanian
  • VechtarendDutch
  • wojownik zbrojnyPolish
  • águia-marcialPortuguese
  • Águia-belicosaPortuguese
  • Боевой орёлRussian
  • Воинственный орёлRussian
  • orol bojovnýSlovak
  • Ratnički oraoSerbian
  • stridsörnSwedish
  • Döğüşken KartalTurkish
  • Dövüşken KartalTurkish
  • nTsuTswana
  • орел-боєцьUkrainian
  • 猛雕Chinese
  • 猛鵰Chinese
  • uKhoziZulu
  • isiHuhwaZulu

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the martial eagle

Other species in the same family Accipitridae.

LC, Least Concern
Black kite (Milvus migrans)

Black kite

Milvus migrans

Accipitridae

CompareMartial eagle vs Golden eagleMartial eagle vs Eurasian sparrowhawkMartial eagle vs Eurasian goshawkMartial eagle vs Black kite

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the martial eagle?

An adult martial eagle weighs 3.97 kg – 4.95 kg and has a wingspan of 1.88 m – 2.27 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the martial eagle endangered?

The martial eagle is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

How long does the martial eagle live?

The martial eagle has a recorded lifespan of 19.5 years.

What kind of animal is the martial eagle?

The martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/martial-eagle

MLA

“Martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/martial-eagle.

BibTeX
@misc{martial_eagle_2026,
  title = {Martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/martial-eagle},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}