- Aquila nipalensis
Identification
72–81 cm (28-32 in)
- Brown upperparts
- Pale throat
- Blackish flight feathers and tail, .
Gape line goes back behind the mid of the eye, often to the rear edge but not always. Gape is fleshy and nostril oval.
Similar species
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Nazafgarh Wetlands, Delhi-Gurgaon Border, Haryana, India, February-2018
In Europe look at Greater Spotted Eagle and Lesser Spotted Eagle; in Africa also Tawny Eagle and Wahlberg's Eagle
Distribution
Breeds from the northern slopes of the Caucasus to the north of the Caspian Sea in southern Russia and Kazakhstan and east into Central Asia as far as north-west China and Tibet. Probably now extinct in the Ukraine and a former breeder in Moldova, Romania and Turkey. Further south breeds in Pakistan, India and Burma.
In the northern winter found mainly in Eastern and Southern Africa, small numbers in Iraq and Israel, occasionally Greece and Turkey. On passage occurs in Turkey and the Middle East, Sinai and Egypt but generally rather scarce. Eastern birds winter south to Pakistan, India and southern China.
Annual or almost so in Sweden and Finland, vagrants also recorded west to the Netherlands and France, various European countries and south to Sardinia, Tunisia and Chad.
Taxonomy
Considered conspecific with Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax by some authors. The subspecies vindhiana of the latter is sometimes included in this species.
Subspecies
There are 2 subspecies[1]:
- A. n. orientalis:
- Central Eurasia; winters to Middle East, Arabia and southern Africa
- A. n. nipalensis:
Habitat
Photo © by rony_roshtov
Eylat, Israel, April 2006
Lowland steppe, semi-desert and foothills. Occurs up to 2300 m.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists mostly of carrion, but will kill rodents, small mammals and birds. Subspecies orientalis specialises in hunting suslick (ground squirrels). They will also snatch food from other raptors.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Sinclair et al. 2002. Birds of Southern Africa. Princeton Field Guides, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. ISBN 0-691-09682-1
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2015)
- AvianWeb
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Steppe Eagle. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 17 March 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Steppe_Eagle
External Links
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