Indian Spotted Eagle
Clanga hastata
A small eagle, slightly larger than a kite but structurally similar to other large eagles, with six splayed “fingers” at the wingtip and a pale rump. Adult is rich brown overall with a long gape line that extends behind the eye. Nostrils are round. Subadults are paler, with light speckles on breast and belly. In flight from below, wings and tail are finely barred with brown on creamy white feathers. Unlike other large eagles, its long legs are lightly feathered, lacking the baggy “trousers.” Soars over grasslands, scrub, light forests, and wetlands; can be found away from wetlands, unlike the Greater Spotted Eagle.
Identification
The Indian spotted eagle is about 60 cm in length and has a wingspan of 150 cm. It is broad-headed, with the widest mouth of all spotted eagles. This species has a lighter coloration overall compared to its relatives, with a darker iris that makes the eyes appear darker than the plumage (rather than the other way around as in the northern spotted eagles). Adults can be told apart from the greater spotted eagle by its lighter color, darker eyes, and habitat preference. After about three or four months the young birds are glossy brown with the tips of the head and neck feathers being creamy and giving a spotted appearance. The upper tail coverts are light brown with white giving a barred appearance. The median coverts have large creamy spots. After about eighteen months the bird moults and becomes a darker shade and has less spots. Some older juveniles, unlike the lesser and greater species, are not strongly spotted at all, making the common name somewhat misleading, and also lack the creamy buff nape patch of the juvenile lesser spotted eagle.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Clanga hastata
- Authority
- (Lesson, RP, 1831)
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Clanga
Range and habitat
The Indian spotted eagle is native to Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Nepal. It occurs in agricultural landscapes and tropical dry forests.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Black-billed Thrush
Turdus ignobilis
A drab thrush, common in open habitats and woodlands in the lowlands but also wanders up into Andean foothills. Nondescript grayish-brown with a pale whitish belly. Note indistinct streaking on throat; some populations also show a white patch on chest. Sexes similar. Usually seen singly or in pairs. Conspicuous. Song is a typical thrushlike series of musical phrases.
Roadside Hawk
Rupornis magnirostris
Well-named, the common roadside hawk in tropical lowlands of East Mexico and Central and South America. Often seen on wires, phone poles, posts out in fields. Adult has staring pale eyes, streaked breast contrasting with barred belly. Immature streaked below, much like many other immature hawks, but its tail has broad and fairly even bands. Flies with rather quick, stiff wingbeats, recalling a Red-shouldered Hawk or an Accipiter; noisy flight display mainly in late winter-spring.
Caspian Plover
Anarhynchus asiaticus
Stately plover with a gentle, dovelike expression. Breeding male is stunning, with a white face and belly separated by a broad chestnut patch across the chest. Breeding female is plainer brown, and has a warm rusty-brown patch across the chest. Nonbreeding adults and juveniles are grayish-brown with pale fringes to the feathers of the upperparts, as well as a pale face and belly. Oriental Plover is similar in nonbreeding plumage, but note the white stripe on the wing when Caspian is in flight. Inhabits open areas, near water when breeding and often away from it when wintering. Gives short nasal calls when in flight.
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