Booted Eagle
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| Aquila pennatus (Gmelin, 1788) |
The Booted Eagle (Aquila pennatus) is a large bird of prey. It is about 47 cm in length and has a wingspan of 120cm. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.
This is a species of wooded, often hilly, country with some open areas. It hunts small mammals, reptiles and birds.
This is a small eagle, similar to the Common Buzzard in size, but more eagle-like in shape. Males grow to about 700 grams in weight and females close to 1 kilogram. There are two plumage forms. Pale birds are mainly light grey with a darker head and flight feathers. The other form has mid-brown plumage with dark grey flight feathers.
The call is a shrill kli-kli-kli.
Recent DNA research resulted in this species being moved to the genus Aquila from Hieraaetus.
References
- BirdLife International (2004). Hieraaetus pennatus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Splitting headaches? Recent taxonomic changes affecting the British and Western Palaearctic lists - Martin Collinson, British Birds vol 99 (June 2006), 306-323
Categories
Eagles