Booted Eagle are becoming more regular during this part of
the season. They tend to stay away from the main streams of Honey Buzzard and
Black Kite almost attempting to sneak past the stations without being detected.
This small eagle is an arial hunter which can be observed
hovering Kestrel like in the wind before stooping on unsuspecting prey. There
are two morphs light and dark with fewer light morphs the further east you
travel.
Adult birds are told from juveniles by signs of moult and
wear through the flight feathers. Dark morph birds are easily confused with
Black Kite and Marsh Harrier. A favourite feature which is obvious in dark morph birds is the "landing lights" light areas at the base of the wings.
Juvenile birds show an overall fresher plumage without signs
of moult. The trailing edge is evenly white along the s shaped edge of the
wings. The eye is also a darker brown.
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