The
Greater Spotted Eagle (
Aquila clanga), occasionally just called the
"spotted eagle", is a large
bird of preyBirds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as any bird that kills its prey with its talons. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh. In most cases,...
. Like all typical
eagleEagles are large birds of prey which are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa...
s, it belongs to the family
AccipitridaeThe Accipitridae is one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes . Many well-known birds, such as hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures are included in this group...
. The typical eagles are often united with the
buteoButeo is a genus of medium-sized wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called "buzzards", but "hawk" is used in North America...
s (
Buteo),
sea eagleSea eagle can mean:* Sea eagle , Haliaeetus, a genus of birds of prey which includes:** White-tailed Eagle** White-bellied Sea Eagle* Sea Eagle missile* Sea Eagle...
s (
Haliaetus) and other more heaviset
AccipitridaeThe Accipitridae is one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes . Many well-known birds, such as hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures are included in this group...
, but it appears as if they are less distinct from the more slender accipitrine hawks than believed.
It is about 65 cm in length and has a wingspan of 160 cm.
The
Greater Spotted Eagle (
Aquila clanga), occasionally just called the
"spotted eagle", is a large
bird of preyBirds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as any bird that kills its prey with its talons. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh. In most cases,...
. Like all typical
eagleEagles are large birds of prey which are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa...
s, it belongs to the family
AccipitridaeThe Accipitridae is one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes . Many well-known birds, such as hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures are included in this group...
. The typical eagles are often united with the
buteoButeo is a genus of medium-sized wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called "buzzards", but "hawk" is used in North America...
s (
Buteo),
sea eagleSea eagle can mean:* Sea eagle , Haliaeetus, a genus of birds of prey which includes:** White-tailed Eagle** White-bellied Sea Eagle* Sea Eagle missile* Sea Eagle...
s (
Haliaetus) and other more heaviset
AccipitridaeThe Accipitridae is one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes . Many well-known birds, such as hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures are included in this group...
, but it appears as if they are less distinct from the more slender accipitrine hawks than believed.
Description
It is about 65 cm in length and has a wingspan of 160 cm. This medium-large eagle is very similar in general appearance to its closest relative the
Lesser Spotted EagleThe Lesser Spotted Eagle is a large Eastern European bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae...
(
A. pomarina), which shares part of its range. Head and wing coverts are very dark brown and contrast with the generally medium brown plumage; the Lesser Spotted Eagle has a paler head and wing coverts. The head is small for an eagle. The similarites of the Greater Spotted to the Lesser Spotted often results in misidentification as being that species. This is further complicated by occasional hybrids between the two species.
There is often a less obvious white patch on the upperwings, but a light crescent on the primary remiges is a good field mark. The white V mark on the rump is less clear-cut in adults than in the Lesser Spotted Eagle. The juvenile has white spots all over its wings and lacks a lighter nape patch.
The call is a dog-like
yip.
In winter, it occurs in the range of the
Indian Spotted EagleThe Indian Spotted Eagle is a large South Asian bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae...
(
A. hastata). From this recently-validated relative, it can be distinguished by the darker color and lighter eye (not darker than the body plumage at distance, lighter at close range), and in juveniles, the strong spotting. It is also a bit larger – though this cannot be reliably estimated in the field – and in the winter quarters prefers wetland
habitatThe term habitat has a number of meanings:* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows** Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
.
Systematics, taxonomy and evolution
The
Lesser Spotted EagleThe Lesser Spotted Eagle is a large Eastern European bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae...
(
A. pomarina) is this species' closest living relative; their common ancestor seems to have diverged around the middle
PlioceneThe Pliocene epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present....
, perhaps some 3.6 million years ago (mya), from the ancestors of the
Indian Spotted EagleThe Indian Spotted Eagle is a large South Asian bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae...
(
A. hastata) that lives across Iran,
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
and India. The "proto-Spotted Eagle" probably lived in the general region of
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
, being split into a northern and a southern lineage when both glaciers and
desertA desert is a landscape or region that receives almost no precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation. In the Köppen climate classification system,...
s advanced in Central Asia as the last ice age began. The northern lineage subsequently separated into the eastern (Greater) and western (Lesser) species of today, probably around the Pliocene-
PleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2.588 million to 12 000 years BP covering the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
boundary not quite 2 mya.
The spotted eagles as a group are quite distinct from the typical members of
AquilaAquila is the genus of true eagles. It is often united with the buteos, sea eagles and other more heavyset Accipitridae, but more recently it appears as if they are less distinct from the more slender accipitrine hawks than believed...
, the "true eagles". They will probably be included with their putative tropical relatives in
Lophaetus or
Ictinaetus, or moved to a genus of their own in the near future.
Distribution, ecology and status
This is a species of fairly wooded country, which hunts small
mammalMammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose females are characterized by the possession of mammary glands while both males and females are characterized by sweat glands, hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain.Mammals are divided into three main...
s and similar, mainly terrestrial prey. It breeds from northern
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
across
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
, and
winterBird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. These however are usually irregular or in only one direction and are termed variously as nomadism, invasions,...
s in southeastern Europe, the
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, southeastern Europe, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and
South AsiaSouth Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east...
. Migration to breeding grounds takes place fairly late; in
BhutanThe Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by People's Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from the nearby state of Nepal to the west by...
for example birds can be seen with some regularity until the end of March. This eagle lays 1-3
eggsIn most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo. When the embryo is adequately developed it breaks out of the egg in the...
in a tree nest.
Generally territorial, juveniles spend some time with their parents after fledging, until they reach
sexual maturitySexual maturity is the age or stage when an organism can reproduce. It is sometimes considered synonymous with adulthood, though the two are distinct...
and seek out a territory and a mate of their own. In winter quarters, the species is more social. Small flocks of up to ten birds or so, of varying age, can be seen to patrol the land together. They also associate with other
AccipitridaeThe Accipitridae is one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes . Many well-known birds, such as hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures are included in this group...
in winter quarters, like local and/or migrant
Black KiteThe Black Kite is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers....
s (
Milvus migrans lineatus and
govinda) or
Steppe EagleThe Steppe Eagle, , is a large bird of prey. It is about 62–81 cm in length and has a wingspan of 165-200 cm . Females, weighing 2.3-4.9 kg , are slightly larger than males, at 2-3.5 kg . Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae...
s (
A. nipalensis), distinctly smaller and larger raptors, respectively.
This species is prone to vagrancy. Its regular breeding range does not reach to
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
anymore these days, but still they are not rarely met with in that country, with a few birds seen every decade. Even young birds disperse widely; the
Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde DresdenStaatliches Museum für Tierkunde, Dresden is a natural history museum that houses 10,000-50,000 specimens, including skeletons and large insect collections. Many are types.The collection suffered war damage and whilst catalogued the database is not computerized. Loans are possible and material can...
has a specimen (C 21845) shot in November 1914 at Großgrabe near Bernsdorf in
SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a federal state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states.Long in the heart of German-speaking Europe, Saxony became one of the new...
. It is a juvenile, and though its exact age cannot be determined it is heavily spotted and probably less than 20 months old.
An adult Greater Spotted was tagged with a satellite transponder in 1993 in order to track migration. The tagged eagle migrated a total of 5,526 kilometers (3,434 miles) from its wintering grounds in
YemenYemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is a country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia...
to it breeding grounds in western
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
. It moved 150 km (94 miles) on average each day, but this increased to 280 km (175 mi) per day as the bird flew through
MesopotamiaMesopotamia "land between the rivers" is a name for the Tigris–Euphrates region in the eastern Mediterranean, largely corresponding to Iraq, as well as northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khūzestān Province of southwestern...
.
It is classified as Vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN. As of 2000, the world population of this eagle was estimated at less than 4,000 breeding pairs. The primary threats are habit degradation and habitat loss, as well as human disturbance during the mating season.
External links