Booted eagle

The booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) is a species of accipitriform bird in the family Accipitridae. It is a medium-sized bird of prey found across most of Eurasia and Africa.

It is found in southern Europe, North Africa and Asia. It is a migratory bird that spends the winter in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, although small wintering populations exist in the south-west of the Iberian Peninsula.

It lives in woodland mixed, in a mosaic pattern, with areas of scrub and open ground

It feeds on a wide variety of prey, mainly birds, but also small mammals, reptiles, other small birds and even invertebrates

It builds its nest in a tree, rarely on a rocky ledge, and generally chooses the largest specimens. The nest usually has a base of large branches and is lined with pine needles. The clutch is one to three eggs, although two is the most common. Incubation lasts thirty-five to forty days, and the chicks stay in the nest for fifty-six to sixty days.

It has two colour phases:

• The pale phase, with white underparts marked with small brown tips and shading. The head is brown and the edges of the wings are dark, almost black.
• The dark phase, with dark brown underparts. As in the pale phase, the edges of the wings are dark, though not as much so

In both phases the underside of the tail is pale grey. On the upper parts the two phases are much more alike, with brown plumage. In flight, white patches can often be seen on the shoulders, known as “landing lights”, although they are not exclusive to this species.