These high-flying acrobats of the African skies get their name from the French word for "tumbler," and they can often be seen turning somersaults and performing other feats of aerial acrobatics. Bateleur eagles have bright red faces and legs and a black-tipped beak. They hunt small mammals, insects, and reptiles--especially snakes--but they will also eat carrion, which is the flesh of dead animals. Bateleur eagles mate for life and females usually lay a single egg at a time.
-----
Range: Africa and Arabia.
Characteristics: Short tail and long, pointed wings that are exceptionally wide. Bateleurs have black feathers, a reddish-brown back and the underside of their wings are white.