The broad wings are pale grey with a black trailing edge fringed with a narrow white line.

An unusual trait of this species is the double-jointed ankles it possesses, which enable it to reach into otherwise inaccessible holes and cracks for prey.

A comparable leg-structure and behaviour can be found in the Neotropical crane hawk as well as the extinct Australian Pengana; a case of convergent evolution.

[3] African harrier-hawks are adaptable in their habitat preferences, occupying the following habitats in the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve in the Central African Republic: thick rainforest, forest edge, riparian areas, agricultural land and human occupied areas.

In the courtship display for African harrier-hawks, either one of or both individuals in a pair soar slowly together, at height, and can often be heard calling during this time.

[3][9] The African harrier-hawk is omnivorous, eating the fruit of the oil palm as well as hunting small vertebrates.

Its ability to climb, using wings as well as feet, and its long double-jointed legs, enable this bird to raid the nests of cavity-nesters such as barbets and woodhoopoes for eggs and nestlings.

[9] Low soaring is the most commonly used method.The harrier-hawk flies close to the canopy and is often mobbed by small passerine birds.