Steppe eagle
The steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) is a large bird of prey. It belongs to the family Accipitridae, like all eagles.[1] The steppe eagle's well-feathered legs represents it to be a member of the subfamily Aquilinae. It is also known as the "booted eagles". This species was once known to be closely related to the sedentary tawny eagle (Aquila rapax). The two forms have previously been treated as conspecific.
They were split based on pronounced differences in morphology and anatomy;[2][3] two molecular studies, each based on a very small number of genes. They indicate that the species are distinct but disagree over how closely related they are.[3][4][5]
Due to these and other reasons, the decline of the species is thought to be considerably in excess of 50%. Therefore, the species is considered to be endangered by the IUCN. The steppe eagle appears on the flag of Kazakhstan and is the national bird of both Kazakhstan and Egypt.
Steppe Eagle Media
The gape of the steppe eagle is an easy way to distinguish it from the tawny eagle. The gape extends beyond the centre of the eye as against the tawny. The oval nostril sets it apart from the spotted eagles.
Detailed view of a young steppe eagle in flight in Pakistan.
Adult steppe eagle in flight, Aravalli Biodiversity Park, Gurgaon
A young captive steppe eagle in Wildpark Tripsdrill, Germany, displaying several typical features including the distinctive pale bands about the wings and huge gape.
A steppe eagle flying over the snowy mountains near the Hunza Valley in Pakistan.
A young steppe eagle seen in Tanzania.
The vast and quite flat steppe is the unique home of breeding steppe eagles.
A steppe eagle juvenile seen in Kerala.
A steppe eagle photographed in Nepal, arguably their primary point of passage in the eastern part of the range.
An unusual, pale probable subadult steppe eagle in Nepal.
Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) Thumamah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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References
- ↑ Ferguson-Lees, J.; Christie, D. (2001). Raptors of the World. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0-618-12762-3.
- ↑ Clark, W.S. (1992). "The taxonomy of Steppe and Tawny Eagles, with criteria for separation of museum specimens and live eagles". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 112: 150–157.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Olson, Storrs L. (1994). "Cranial osteology of Tawny and Steppe Eagles Aquila rapax and A. nipalensis". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 114: 264–267.
- ↑ "Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis". globalraptors.org. Global Raptor Information Network. Archived from the original on 2020-09-26. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ↑ Sangster, George; Knox, Alan G.; Helbig, Andreas J.; Parkin, David T. (2002). "Taxonomic recommendations for European birds". Ibis. 144 (1): 153–159. doi:10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x.
Further reading
- Svensson, Lars (1–8 November 1986). "Underwing pattern of Steppe, Spotted and Lesser Spotted Eagles" in International Bird Identification: Proceedings of the 4th International Identification Meeting. : 12–14Eilat: International Birdwatching Centre Eilat.