Spanish imperial eagle
Spanish imperial eagle | |
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A Spanish imperial eagle flying down to its perch | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Accipitriformes |
Family: | Accipitridae |
Genus: | Aquila |
Species: | A. adalberti
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Binomial name | |
Aquila adalberti C. L. Brehm, 1861
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Synonyms | |
Aquila heliaca adalberti |
The Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti), also known as the Iberian imperial eagle, the Spanish eagle or Adalbert's eagle, is a species of eagle native to the Iberian Peninsula. The binomial commemorates Prince Adalbert of Bavaria. Due to its distinct "epaulettes", old literature often referred to this species as the white-shouldered eagle.[3]
Formerly,[4] the Iberian imperial eagle was considered to be a subspecies of the eastern imperial eagle, but is now widely recognised as a separate species due to differences in morphology,[5] ecology,[6] and molecular characteristics.[7][8]
Description
This is a large raptor and quite large eagle, broadly similar in size to its cousin, the
The adult resembles the eastern imperial eagle and can superficially suggest the golden eagle (especially when distantly seen), but is overall a darker color than either, a rich blackish-brown which extends all the way from the throat down to the belly. Like the eastern imperial, the adult has a broad distinctive white band on the shoulder and leading edge of the wing, which is even more pronounced in the Spanish than in the eastern species, and a much paler tawny color on the nape and crown, unlike the golden-yellow color on a similar area in the golden eagle. The juvenile Spanish imperial eagle is very different from adults and other large raptors in this range, being overall a uniform pale straw-sandy colour, contrasting with broad black bands on both the upper and lower sides of the wings. It has a relatively longer neck, and generally much flatter wing profile in flight than the upturned dihedral typical of a golden eagle.[11]
Distribution and habitat
The species occurs in central and south-west
Rising numbers of vagrant birds born in Spain and then electrocuted in Morocco have been noted;[14] some areas used by the species in Morocco could be becoming sort of a "drain" in terms of the species recovery and this is due to the fact that the country stands in a similar situation as Spain was in the early 1980s when it comes to insulation of transmission towers.[15] Vagrant birds have even reached Mauritania and Senegal.[16] North of its natural range, vagrants have reached as far as the Netherlands in one rare occasion.[17]
Behaviour and ecology
Breeding
Nesting habitat is usually dry, mature woodlands, which they utilize for nesting and seclusion, but nests are most often fairly close to shrubby openings and wetland areas where prey is more likely to be concentrated. A shy species toward man, they normally nest only where human disturbance is quite low.[18] Like most raptors, they are highly territorial and tend to maintain a stable home range. Spanish imperial eagles nest from February to April. The nesting pair will construct a nest of as much as 1.5 m (4.9 ft) across when first built, which will increase in time, especially in mature cork oaks (Quercus suber) or pine trees. Clutch size is usually two to three eggs, with an incubation period of about 43 days, but on average about 1.23-1.4 fledglings are produced per nest. Nestling mortality is usually due to human disturbance and destruction and nest collapses, secondarily due to predation and siblicide. Fledging is reached at 63–77 days of age but juveniles can linger for an extremely long period, to at least 160 days after fledging.[11][19][20]
Food and feeding
The Spanish imperial eagle feeds mainly on
The Spanish imperial eagle is one of several rabbit-favoring birds of prey in Spain along with the similarly specialized
Conservation
The species is classified as
By the 1960s it had become a
References
- ^ . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "Ornithology of Gibraltar, page 171=10 November 2022". openlibrary. 4 April 1895.
- ^ Sangster et al. 2002
- ^ Cramp & Simmons 1980
- ^ ISBN 84-87334-15-6.
- ^ Seibold et al. 1996
- ^ Padilla et al. 1999
- ^ European Raptor Conservation European This is a national bird of Spain Spanish Imperial Eagle, Aquila adalberti. Accessed 17 May 2011
- ^ Mendi, M. B., Aliende, M. M., & Benito, M. B. (2004). Aves de Fresno de Torote y Serracines. Entrelineas Editores.
- ^ a b c Ferguson, L. J., & Christie, D. A. (2001). Raptors of the World. London (UK): Christopher Helm.
- ^ Gonzalez et al. 1989, p. 89
- Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- OCLC 947630527.
- ^ a b Las águilas imperiales vuelven a Marruecos y mueren electrocutadas|Ciencia|EL PAÍS
- ^ González, L. M. & Oria, J. (2004). Águila Imperial Ibérica Aquila adalberti. In: Madroño, A., González C. & Atienza, J. C. (editors): Libro rojo de las aves de España: 145–152. Dirección General para la Biodiversidad & SEO/BirdLife, Madrid.
- ^ Weenink, R.; van Duivendijk, N.; Ebels, E. B. (2011). "[Spanish Imperial Eagle at Loozerheide in May 2007]". Dutch Birding. 33: 94–102.
- hdl:10261/47136.
- .
- JSTOR 4513455.
- ^ a b González, L. M. (2016). Águila imperial ibérica – Aquila adalberti. En: Enciclopedia Virtual de los Vertebrados Españoles. Salvador, A., Morales, M. B. (Eds.). Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid.
- ^ Sánchez, R.; Margalida, A.; González, L.M.; Oria, J. (2008). "Biases in diet sampling methods in the Spanish imperial eagle Aquila adalberti". Ornis Fennica. 85 (3): 82–89.
- ^ González, L. M. (1996). Action plan for the Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti). Globally Threatened Birds in Europe: Action Plans (Council of Europe and BirdLife International Strasbourg 1996), 175-189.
- ^ Oria, J. (1999). "Spanish Imperial Eagle Aquila adalberti attacks and kills a Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus". Vulture News. 40: 37.
- .
- ^ Salvando al águila imperial ibérica|Ciencia|EL PAÍS
- JSTOR 3589211.
- doi:10.2193/2009-521.
Sources
- Gonzalez, L. M.; Hiraldo, F.; Delibes, M. & Calderon, J. (June 1989). "Zoographic support for the Spanish Imperial Eagle as a distinct species". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 109 (2): 86–93. ISSN 0007-1595.
- Cramp, S. & Simmons, K. E. L. (1980). Birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. 2. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
- Ferguson-Lees, James & Christie, David A. (2001): Raptors of the World. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. ISBN 0-618-12762-3.
- Ferrer, Miguel (2001): The Spanish Imperial Eagle. ISBN 84-87334-34-2.
- Padilla, J. A.; Martinez-Trancón, M.; Rabasco, A. & Fernández-García, J. L. (1999). "The karyotype of the Iberian imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti) analyzed by classical and DNA replication banding". Cytogenetics and Cell Genetics. 84 (1–2): 61–66. S2CID 41181626.
- Sangster, George; Knox, Alan G.; Helbig, Andreas J. & Parkin, David T. (2002). "Taxonomic recommendations for European birds". .
- Seibold, I.; Helbig, A. J.; Meyburg, B. U.; Negro, J. J. & Wink, M. (1996). "Genetic Differentiation and Molecular Phylogeny of European Aquila Eagles (Aves: Falconiformes) According to Cytochrome-b Nucleotide Sequences" (PDF). In Meyburg, B. U. & Chancellor, R. D. (eds.). Eagle Studies. Berlin: World Working Group on Birds of Prey. pp. 1–15.