Name:Hieraaetus pennatus
Alias:Hieraaetus pennatus,Booted Eagle,Booted eagle, Booted falcon eagle
Outline:Bird of prey
Family:Falconiformes Accipitridae Falconiformes
length:42-51
Weight:510-1250g
Life:20-70years
IUCN:LC
Booted Eagle, a medium-sized eagle with no subspecies.
The Booted Eagle's nesting area is wide, from Spain and North Africa to Northeast China, distributed in mid-latitudes. It will spend the winter in sub-Saharan Africa, avoiding the dense forests of the central and western parts of the country and the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, he is a great immigrant. Migration records are from March to April and from September to October.
The Booted Eagle mainly feeds on rodents, hares, small birds, young birds, and reptiles. It mainly forages in various types of forests. The main way of foraging is to hide among the branches and leaves, and suddenly attack and rush to the prey when the prey appears; they also fly at high speed among the trees to chase prey; sometimes they soar and circle in the sky to search for prey, and when they find it, they bend and fold their wings and dive down quickly to catch it.
The breeding season of the booted falcon is from April to June. In mid-April, pairs can be seen flying over the forest for courtship, and they keep singing. They usually nest on tall trees in the forest, 5-20 meters above the ground. The male and female parents build nests together. The nests are mostly placed on the branches of the upper part of the tree. The structure is relatively large and simple, mainly composed of dead branches. Green leaves and branches are brought in for reinforcement during the entire nesting period. The nest is disc-shaped, with a diameter of 50-80 cm, and sometimes old nests of other birds are also used. Each nest usually lays 2 eggs, occasionally as many as 3 or as few as 1. The eggs are blue, white, greenish white or off-white, sometimes with inconspicuous reddish or yellowish brown spots. The eggs are oval, 56-64 mm × 42.5-48.5 mm in size, with an average of 56.4 mm × 45.6 mm. After the first egg is laid, incubation begins, mainly undertaken by the female bird, and incubation lasts about 32-34 days. The young birds grow slowly and begin to leave the nest at around 50-60 days old, but they will stay in the nest provided by their parents for a while.
Overall, the trend of the Booted Eagle population is considered unknown. The species is declining in some areas due to forest destruction, human disturbance, and a decrease in natural enemies and prey. In Europe, the population size is estimated to be increasing.
Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2016 ver 3.1-Least Concern (LC).
Listed in China's National List of Key Protected Wildlife (February 5, 2021) Level 2.
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