Booted Eagle, Dwergarend, Zwergadler, Águia-calçada, Aguila calzada
Spotted on our property Monte Horizonte in the Alentejo region of Portugal. Booted Eagle sound
The Booted Eagle (Aquila pennata) (formerly Hieraaetus pennatus) is a medium-sized bird of prey. It is about 47 centimeters (18 inches) in length and has a wingspan of 120 cm (almost 4 feet). Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.
Pale phase Booted Eagle wintering in India, It breeds in southern Europe, North Africa and across Asia. It is migratory, wintering in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This eagle lays 1-2 eggs in a tree or crag nest.
This is a species of wooded, often hilly countryside with some open areas. It hunts small mammals, reptiles and birds.
The Booted is a small eagle, comparable to the Common Buzzard in size though more eagle-like in shape. Males grow to about 700 grams (1.5 lbs) in weight, with females close to 1 kilogram (over 2 lb). There are two relatively distinct plumage forms. 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.
The call is a shrill kli-kli-kli.
Recent genetic research resulted in the reclassification of this species to the genus Aquila from Hieraaetus. As it is the type species of Hieraaetus, should any of the hawk-eagles be retained in a distinct genus a new name for that group would be necessary.
Along with the Little Eagle this bird is one of the closest living relatives of the extinct Haast’s Eagle of New Zealand.
Other synonyms:
Afrikaans: Dwergarend
Asturian: Aigla de les Biesques, Aigla les Biesques
Catalan: Àguila calçada, Àguila serpera
Catalan (Balears): Àguila calçada
Valencian: Àguila serpera
Czech: Orel nejmenší
Danish: Dværgørn
German: Zwergadler
English: Booted Eagle, Booted Hawk Eagle, Booted Hawk-Eagle, European Booted Eagle
Esperanto: Botaglo
Spanish: Aguila Calzada, Águila calzada, Aguililla Calzada, Águililla Calzada
Estonian: kääbuskotkas
Basque: Àguila calçada, Arrano txiki, Arrano txikia
Finnish: Kääpiökotka, Pikkukotka
Faroese: Velbrún ørn
French: Aigle botté, Aigle royal
Galician: Aguia calzada, Àguila calçada
Croatian: Patuljasti orao
Hungarian: Törpesas
Indonesian: Elang Setiwel
Icelandic: Skálmörn
Italian: Aquila minore, Aquila minore eurasiatica
Japanese: himekumataka, Himekuma-taka
Kwangali: Ekangakodi
Latin: Aquila pennata, Aquila pennatus, Hieraaetus pennatus
Lithuanian: Nykétukinis erelis, Nykštukinis erelis
Malay: Helang Junam
Maltese: Ajkla tal-Kalzetti
Dutch: Dwergarend
Norwegian: Dvergørn
Polish: orzelek
Portuguese: águia calçada, Águia-calçada
Romansh: Evla pitschna
Russian: Oryol-karlik
Slovak: malý myšiakovitý, Orol malý, orol myšiakovitý, orol myšiakovitý (orol malý)
Slovenian: mali orel
Albanian: Shqiponja e vogël
Serbian: patuljasti orao
Swedish: Dvärgörn
Swahili: Tai Mabuti
Turkish: Cüce Kartal, Küçük kartal
Birdwatching in the Alentejo region of Portugal