Hawks and eagles
Booted Eagle
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Hieraaetus pennatus
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Voice
Alarm
Thomas SIGNEAU
How to recognize it
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45–53 cm, buzzard-sized but more eagle-like
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Long narrow tail; relatively narrow wings
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Pale morph: dark upperparts, white underwing, black flight feathers
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Shrill "kli-kli-kli"
About the species
Booted Eagles move with quick wingbeats and a straight, purposeful flight, then switch to brief glides. Their call is a sharp “kli-kli-kli”, and in the breeding season they can also be noisy during courtship flights.
They hunt on the wing or from a perch near open ground, dropping fast on small mammals, reptiles, and other small prey. Pairs return to the same nesting places, build stick nests in trees or on crags, and sometimes use old nests left by larger raptors.
They breed in wooded country with nearby open areas, especially on hills, in foothills, and along forest edges. Northern populations leave for Africa and South Asia in autumn and return in spring, while some southern groups stay year-round.
Where to find
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In mature parks with big deciduous trees, Booted Eagle may sit quietly on tall oaks or lindens — watch the edge of the canopy for a perched hunter.
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Where a park opens into a vacant lot or floodplain meadow, look for low flight between trees with short wingbeats and brief glides.
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Along canal banks, pond edges, and reedy shorelines, check lone trees over the water — often it drops from a branch in a sudden stoop.
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In hilly districts and around tall stone structures, the sharp "kli-kli-kli" call can give away a hunter circling above the treetops.
You might also see
Sources
- eBird — Hieraaetus pennatus Sightings map and full description on eBird
- Wikipedia — Booted eagle Encyclopedia article