African Fish Eagle

The African Fish Eagle feeds mainly on fish, which, upon spotting a potential prey item from a perch in a tree, it will swoop down upon and snatch the prey from the water with its large clawed talons. The eagle will then fly back to its perch to eat its catch.

Perched in a fever tree in Malawi – it perches with an upright posture and mostly in trees.
Like other sea eagles, the African Fish Eagle has structures on its toes called spiricules that allows it to grasp fish and other slippery prey. The Osprey, a winter visitor to Africa, also has this adaptation. Should the African Fish Eagle catch a fish over 1.8 kg (4 pounds) it will be too heavy to allow the eagle to get lift, so it will instead drag the fish across the surface of the water until it reaches the shore. If it catches a fish that is too heavy to even allow the eagle to sustain flight, it will drop into the water and paddle to the nearest shore with its wings