The greater spotted eagle is a dark Eurasian eagle that, unlike most of its relatives, sticks close to marshes, bogs, and floodplain forests. It isn't found in North America; it breeds across Eastern Europe, Russia, and northeastern China and winters farther south, around the Mediterranean and in southern Asia. Young birds have rows of pale, drop-shaped spots on their wings.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 24–28 in (60–70 cm) long with a wingspan of roughly 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m). Adults are an even dark brown to blackish, with a faint pale U above the tail. Females are noticeably bigger than males.
- Voice
- Often noisy, even in winter, giving a high-pitched, single-note whistle; females sound lower and hoarser.
- Seasonal forms
- Juveniles are blackish brown with rows of whitish to buff, drop-shaped spots on the wings. A rare pale form, called 'fulvescens', has a buff to golden body and wing coverts.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- marshes and bogs
- floodplain forests
- river deltas
- rice paddies
- Range
- Breeds in Eastern Europe, European Russia, southern Siberia, Mongolia, and northeastern China. Winters around the Mediterranean, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and southern China. It doesn't occur in North America.
- Preferred conditions
- Mostly a lowland bird that prefers wetter places than other booted eagles.
Behavior
- Diet
- Mainly voles and other small mammals, plus waterbirds such as coots and ducks, frogs, snakes, and carrion. It sometimes steals prey from other raptors.
Life cycle
- Nest
- A stick nest in a large tree.
- Clutch size
- 1–3 eggs
- Incubation
- The female incubates while the male brings food.
- Fledging
- The oldest chick often kills its siblings, so pairs rarely raise more than one young a year.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- VUVulnerableHigh risk of extinction in the wild
- Status
- Losing wetland and forest habitat, collisions with structures, and widespread hybridization with the more numerous lesser spotted eagle all threaten it.
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