The majestic AFRICAN FISH EAGLE. Zimbabwe's national bird. It is an imposing bird and so impressive to behold in its natural habitat. (You can tell that it is a close cousin to the American Bald Eagle.) This bird's wing span is 6.6 feet. Becky LaBombard and I saw several when we were on the Chobe River. Happily, they are not endangered in subsaharan Africa. The African Fish Eagle eats almost anything. Evidently, it was unusual to see one sitting at the edge of the water. Generally they perch in trees, using those eagle eyes - scanning the water and waiting to use the special structures on its toes called spiricules that allow it to grasp fish and other slippery prey. (Our guide said that he had probably just dragged a heavy prey along the water because it had been too much weight to lift.) Although these eagles are some of nature's tough guys; they do mate for life. And, as with all the amazing wild life we saw - seeing this eagle up close and personal was breathtaking.
