Short-toed eagle

    Circaetus gallicus

Castilian: Culebrera europea

Catalan: Àguila marcenca

Gallego: Aguia cobreira

Euskera: Arrano sugezalea

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Falconiformes

Family: Accipitridae

Migratory status: Summer resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Least Concern”.

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THREATS

Lack of reptiles in farming areas, fires, electrical cables, infrequent nest plundering, and illegal hunting.

Length / size: 62-59 cm / 160-175 cm

Identification: Large bird of prey with leathery scales that protect its legs; another notable characteristic is its large head and yellow eyes. Adults have mostly white plumage with brown bars; the head, neck, back and chest are dark brown. In flight it appears to be a very light-coloured bird with brown bars, and its ability to remain in the air despite its size stands out.

Song: Quite silent; during breeding season it makes a nasal sound like a trumpet, "eeack eeack eeack".

Diet: As its name indicates, it feeds on snakes of different sizes, first pecking at their heads and later eating them. It also eats lizards, amphibians, and some small mammals.

Reproduction: The reproductive cycle is quite long, running from spring to summer. Both adults build, or repair, the nest, which is an accumulation of branches of different thicknesses and which is situated in the top part of a tree. Just one egg is laid between mid-April and early May and it is incubated by both sexes, although the female does so more than the male.

HABITAT

It occupies forest areas with open land where it can hunt. Depending on the region, the forests can be pine, oak or chestnut.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: The largest populations are found in the Mediterranean mountain ranges in Catalonia and Levante; the Central and Iberian systems; the Pyrenees and the Pre-Pyrenees; the Baetic, Penibaetic and Subbaetic systems; the Sierrra Morena, the Montes de Toledo and Cáceres.

In Castile and León: It breeds in all the provinces, but the largest concentration is located in León.

Movements and migrations: The specimens that breed in Europe are migratory and go to the tropical savannahs of Africa at the end of summer. During the prenuptial (April) and postnuptial (September/October) passages, the Iberian specimens and those from other regions cross the Strait of Gibraltar headed for Africa.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 2000-3000 breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 450-600 breeding pairs.