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The long-crested eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis) is an African bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae. It is currently placed in a monotypic genus Lophaetus. The long-crested eagle is a bird of forest edges and moist woodland, particularly if that habitat is near to grassland, marsh, a river or a stream; it can also be found in drier woodland, mixed farmland, grazing land, the edges of sugar-cane plantations and orchards. Long-crested eagles will also use exotic plantations such as those of pine or eucalyptus. They range in altitude from sea level to 3,000 m, but it is unusual to find them above 2,000 m.

The long-crested eagle is territorial and the male displays during courtship in which he performs steep dives and also uses a rocking, level display flight, they call frequently during these displays. Both sexes build the nest, constructing a stick platform with a bowl-shaped depression in the centre which is lined with green leaves. The nest is normally situated in the mid-canopy and very close to the trunk of a tree near the forest edge.

Up to 98% of the diet of the long-crested eagle consists of rodents. The long-crested eagle is a "sit and wait" hunter which waits on a perch, scanning the ground and swoops on prey with a gliding flight when it come to the bird's notice.

Source : Wikipedia