This magnificent Martial eagle perched quietly high above us in a dry tree. I took a series of pictures, then we approached gradually, before I got this picture at a reasonable range. It shows a fully-fledged individual, which it becomes only at the age of six, and it exhibits several important characteristics: the mighty, powerful claws, the feathered tarsus, the spotted chest, the powerful beak, a slight hint of a crest, and the "standing" position (rather than 'sitting'). This Africa's largest, or second largest, bird of prey (depending on how you count) is called "the leopard of the air" because of its spotted chest and its ability to kill large prey. One of its hunting methods is quite unique for eagles. It soars high above its prey - that it can spot up to 5 km away - and then strikes it, like a falcon, in an attack from the sky. It catches quite a number of bird species, eg. guineafowl, francolins and bustards. It hunts reptiles and is known to have killed more than 90 different mammalian species, of which 14 are monkeys and many are smaller antelopes. The Martial eagle is e.g. the only bird that kills kids from Impala antelopes. The average life-span is 12-14 years, and the oldest individual recorded had passed 31 years, but since the reproduction is low - it only breeds every two years and then lays only one egg, or possibly two eggs - external threats are serious. In recent years, it has been hunted wildly by livestock breeders because of its reputation as a livestock predator (which is only partly true). In a province in South Africa, the numbers of Martial eagles have fallen to one-third over the last 50 years. In addition, it is killed by power lines, power plants, etc. The overall threat is now so great that, since 2013, the IUCN has classified it as "vulnerable".