NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
African Fish Eagle
Icthyophaga vocifer (Daudin, 1800)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The African fish eagle (Icthyophaga vocifer) or the African sea eagle is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. As a result of its large range, it is known in many languages. Examples of names include: visarend in Afrikaans, nkwazi in Chewa, aigle pêcheur in French, idì in Yoruba, hungwe in Shona, inkwazi in isiZulu, and ntšhu in Northern Sotho. Though this species may superficially resemble the bald eagle in appearance they are not closely related and the two species occur on different continents, with the bald eagle being endemic to North America.
Wikipedia contributors, African fish eagle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:12:46.799602+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Icthyophaga vocifer (Daudin, 1800)
- Name authority
- (Daudin, 1800)
- Common name
- African Fish Eagle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Icthyophaga
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae Vigors, 1824
- genusIcthyophaga R. P. Lesson, 1843
- speciesIcthyophaga vocifer (Daudin, 1800)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Icthyophaga. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Lesser Fish EagleIcthyophaga humilis (S. Müller & Schlegel, 1841) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-bellied Sea EagleIcthyophaga leucogaster (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Madagascar Fish EagleIcthyophaga vociferoides (des Murs, 1845) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Haliaeetus vocifer (Daudin, 1800) (Daudin, 1800) | synonym |
| Falco vocifer Daudin, 1800 Daudin, 1800 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1253657 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:CV8KP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.