Booted eagle

This species is a Turkestan-Mediterranean species common in Europe. It is found in Southwest and Central Asia, North Africa, New Guinea and Australia. It spends his winters in Africa and India, Ceylon island and Burma. In the southern parts of the range it is permanent, and in the northern – migratory. Its distribution in Bulgaria is as a nesting-migratory and transient species. Occurs throughout the country, but with low density. Mainly in the Stara Planina and the Fore-Balkans, Sredna Gora, Pirin, Eastern Rhodopes, Strandzha, Sakar, Dobrudja and Ludogorie. It is more common in Eastern Bulgaria. It is rarer in the Danube plain and the Thracian lowland. During migration it is common on the Black Sea coast.

In Bulgaria, the Booted eagle reaches a body length of up to 49 cm and a wingspan of up to 110 cm. In adults, there are two phases of plumage. One is the light phase, in which it is light brown above and whitish below with longitudinal spots on the chest. This plumage resembles an adult Egyptian vulture. In the dark phase, the head and the body below are dark brown and the tail is lighter. They also have an intermediate phase. The juveniles are whitish, with more spots on the body. The pairs occupy the breeding territory at the end of March and the beginning of April.  The courting flight is a characteristic wave-like diving. It lays 2 eggs. Incubation continues for 36 – 39 days, the young ones staying in the nest for about 50 days. It feeds on hamsters and other rodents, birds (doves, thrushes, larks, titmice), reptiles, etc. that it catches in forests and open spaces. Their habitats are mainly old deciduous forests in the semi-mountainous and hilly areas up to about 2000 m above sea level and the lower parts of the higher mountains. It migrates along sea coasts.

Unknown.

The species is included in the Red Data Book of Bulgaria with the category “Vulnerable” (VU), as well as in Annexes 2 and 3 of the Biodiversity Act (BDA). This specimen is included in Annex I to Directive 2009/147/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds. The Booted eagle is also included in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species with category “Least Concern” (LC).

*Note: For the description of birds is used information from: Golemanski, V. & al. (eds). 2015. Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria. Vol. 2. Animals. BAS & MoEW, Sofia [English ed.: ISBN 978-954-9746-22-8 (IBER – BAS), 978-954-8497-18-3 (MoEW)]; Michev T., D. Simeonov, L. Profirov. 2012. Birds of the Balkan Peninsula. Ecotan, Sofia, 300 pp; the website of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).