Lesser spotted eagle
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| image = עיט חורש.jpg
| image_caption = Juvenile
Note white spots on wings
and white V on rump
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Clanga
| species = pomarina
| authority = (Brehm, CL, 1831)
| range_map = ClangaPomarinaIUCNver2018 2.png
| range_map_caption = Range of C. pomarina
{{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#00FFFF|Passage|outline=gray}}
| synonyms = Aquila pomarina
}}
The lesser spotted eagle (Clanga pomarina) is a large Eastern European bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The typical eagles are often united with the buteos, sea eagles, and other more heavy-set Accipitridae, but more recently it appears as if they are less distinct from the more slender accipitrine hawks than believed.
Description
File:Aquila pomarina orlik krzykliwyAM-crop.jpg
This is a medium-sized eagle, about {{cvt|60|cm}} in length and with a wingspan of {{cvt|150|cm}}.{{cite web | url=https://www.birdinginmalta.com/species_lesserspot.html | title=Lesser spotted eagle; Birdwatching in Malta }} Its head and wing coverts are pale brown and contrast with the generally dark plumage. The head and bill are small for an eagle.{{cite web | url=https://ebird.org/species/leseag1 | title=Lesser spotted eagle; ebird.org }} Usually, a white patch occurs on the upper wings, and even adults retain a clearly marked white "V" on the rump; the wing markings are absent and the white "V" is not well-defined in the greater spotted eagle.
The juvenile has less contrast in the wings, but the remiges bear prominent white spots. It differs from greater spotted eagle juveniles by a lack of wing covert spotting and the presence of a cream-colored neck patch.
The call is a dog-like yip.
Taxonomy and evolution
The birds formerly considered to be the resident Indian subspecies are now considered a separate species, the Indian spotted eagle (Clanga hastata), quite distinct and readily separable by morphological, behavioral, ecological, and DNA sequence data. The European taxon is actually closer to the greater spotted eagle; their common ancestor seems to have diverged around the middle Pliocene, perhaps some 3.6 million years ago, from the ancestors of the Indian birds. The "proto-spotted eagle" probably lived in the general region of Afghanistan, being split into a northern and a southern lineage when both glaciers and deserts advanced in Central Asia as the last ice age began. The northern lineage subsequently separated into the eastern (greater) and western (lesser) species of today, probably around the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary not quite 2 million years ago.
The present species hybridizes occasionally with the greater spotted eagle. Hybrid birds are almost impossible to identify if not seen up close.
Distribution and habitat
File:Clanga pomarina, Belarus 1.jpg]]
The lesser spotted eagle breeds in Central and Eastern Europe and southeastward to Turkey and Armenia; and winters in Africa. This is a very wary species of open or lightly wooded country, in which it hunts small mammals (especially voles, ground squirrels, rats, and mice) and similar terrestrial prey, such as small birds, amphibians, reptiles, and occasionally insects (including termites).{{cn|date=February 2022}}{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Aquila_pomarina/ | title=Aquila pomarina (Lesser spotted eagle) | website=Animal Diversity Web }}{{cite web | url=https://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/eagles/lesser-spotted-eagle | title=Lesser Spotted Eagle | the Peregrine Fund }} It is known to occasionally feed on carrion.{{cite web | url=https://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/eagles/lesser-spotted-eagle | title=Lesser Spotted Eagle | the Peregrine Fund }}
Behaviour and ecology
File:Aquila pomarina nest with eggs.jpg in nest]]
The lesser spotted eagle uses regularly spaced territories consistently between years in the north-western part of its distribution. The distances between territories vary across the region, although this was not found to be related to breeding success. Synchronous variation in breeding success across the region indicates that the eagles are instead influenced by large-scale factors such as fluctuations in climate or prey availability.{{cite journal |author1=Treinys, R. |author2=Bergmanis, U. | author3=Väli, Ü. |year=2017| title=Strong territoriality and weak density-dependent reproduction in Lesser Spotted Eagles Clanga pomarina| journal=Ibis |volume=159| pages=343–351 | doi=10.1111/ibi.12454| issue=2}}
The lesser spotted eagle lays one to three white, buff-spotted eggs in a tree nest. As usual for eagles, only in breeding seasons with very abundant prey does more than one young fledge, but the female starts incubating when the first egg has been laid, thus the first young to hatch usually outgrows its clutch mate(s) and will kill and even eat them sooner or later.{{cn|date=February 2022}}
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{cite journal |last1=Parry |first1=S.J. |last2=Clark |first2=W.S. |last3=Prakash |first3=V. |year=2002 |title=On the taxonomic status of the Indian Spotted Eagle Aquila hastata |journal=Ibis |volume=144 |issue=4 |pages=665–675 |doi=10.1046/j.1474-919X.2002.00109.x}}
{{cite journal |last1=Väli |first1=Ülo |last2=Lõhmus |first2=Asko |year=2004 |title=Nestling characteristics and identification of the lesser spotted eagle Aquila pomarina, greater spotted eagle A. clanga, and their hybrids |journal=Journal of Ornithology |volume=145 |issue=3 |pages=256–263 |doi=10.1007/s10336-004-0028-7|bibcode=2004JOrn..145..256V |s2cid=20893726 }}
{{cite journal |last=Väli |first=Ülo |year=2006 |title=Mitochondrial DNA sequences support species status for the Indian Spotted Eagle Aquila hastata |journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club |volume=126 |issue=3 |pages=238–242 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235355525 }}
The estimate in {{harvnb|Väli|2006}} is certainly incorrect; it uses a molecular clock that is appropriate for small passerines with half the generation times of eagles.
}}
Further reading
- {{cite conference |last=Svensson |first=Lars |author-link=Lars Svensson (ornithologist) |title=Underwing pattern of Steppe, Spotted and Lesser Spotted Eagles |pages=12–14 |conference=International Bird Identification: Proceedings of the 4th International Identification Meeting |location=Eilat |date=1–8 November 1986 |publisher=International Birdwatching Centre Eilat}}
External links
{{Commons category|Clanga pomarina}}
{{Wikispecies|Clanga pomarina}}
- [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/134.pdf Lesser spotted eagle species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds]
- {{BirdLife|22696022|Clanga pomarina}}
- {{Avibase|name=Clanga pomarina}}
- {{InternetBirdCollection|lesser-spotted-eagle-aquila-pomarina}}
- {{VIREO|Lesser+Spotted+Eagle}}
- {{Xeno-canto species|Clanga|pomarina|Lesser Spotted Eagle}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q232523}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Birds of prey of Europe