12-2-2016 GANDIA, VALENCIA - BOOTED EAGLE (Hieraaetus pennatus)

The Booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) is a small mostly migratory bird of prey with a wide distribution. Despite its small size, the Booted eagle is a fierce hunter that usually captures and kill its prey in its powerful talons.

There are two relatively distinct plumage forms of the Botted eagle. 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.

Booted eagles breed in many different regions in both the northern and southern hemisphere. These include southern Europe, North Africa, and across Asia, and also in western South Africa and Namibia. The northern populations are migratory spending November to February in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, while the small southern African populations are sedentary. Booted eagles prefer to live in wooded, often hilly countryside with some open areas. They breed in rocky, broken terrain but migrants may use almost any type of habitat except the dense forest. The birds of the Palearctic breeding population usually nest in coniferous or deciduous woodlands and often in trees.