Bonelli´s eagle

    Hieraaetus fasciatus

Castilian: Águila-azor perdicera

Catalan: Àguila cuabarrada

Gallego: Aguia perdigueira

Euskera: Aztore-arranoa

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Falconiformes

Family: Accipitridae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Vulnerable” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Endangered”.

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THREATS

Direct hunting, traps, poisoning, electrocution, the transformation of its habitat and human disturbances.

Length / size: 60-70 cm / 150-170 cm

Identification: Medium-sized bird with a dark back that has a white spot on it; the belly is pale and mottled, and the tail is also a light colour with a dark band near the tip. In flight the contrast between the dark part under the wings and the pale rest of the body is visible.

Song: Silent, although sometimes a kind of barking noise can be heard in breeding sites.

Diet: It feeds on mammals and medium-sized birds, and even eats reptiles. Red partridges, rabbits, and jackdaws are its primary prey.

Reproduction: It nests in rocky areas or near the ground in the mountains. The nest is a mix of branches covered with grass that the female builds using materials brought by the male; both adults incubate, although the female does so for more time, and both are also responsible for caring for the chicks.

HABITAT

It inhabits rocky and river chasms. It can also nest in trees or transmission towers.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is distributed throughout the Mediterranean coastal mountains, the Baetic Mountains, Sierra Morena and Extremadura.

In Castile and León: It is distributed in two isolated concentrations: in the northeast of the community, in the foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains (Burgos), and the other being in the southwest, in Arribes del Duero (Zamora-Salamanca).

Movements and migrations: Nothern juvenile specimens move south, toward areas where there are no adults but where there is abundant prey.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 650-713 breeding pairs (2000-2002 data).

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 18-26 breeding pairs.