Greater spotted eagle

Greater Spotted Eagle
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Branch	Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Infraphylum	Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass	Tetrapoda
Class	Aves
Sub-class	Neornithes
Infra-class	Neoaves
Order Information
Order	Accipitriformes
Sub-order	Accipitres
Family Information
Superfamily	Accipitroidea
Family	Accipitridae
Sub-family	Aquilinae
Genus Information
Genus	Clanga
Species Information
Species	C. clanga
Synonyms	Aquila clanga
Population statistics
Population	8,800 (2016 est.)
Conservation status	Vulnerable

The greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga) is a bird of prey of the family Accipitridae, and found throughout much of Eurasia.

Description

The greater spotted eagle is medium-sized, about 23–28 inches in length, a wingspan of 61.8 to 70.5 inches, and weigh 3.5 to 5.5 pounds. Females are larger than males. Adult birds are almost dark brown in color overall, with a somewhat lighter, monochrome dark brown-gray primary and secondary flight feathers. The upper tail coverts are faintly white edged, forming a "V" shape. A rare "fulvescens" color morph is occasionally seen, with the head and body a light beige to gold in color, with wings and flight feathers dark brown-gray. The iris is brown, the feet and toes are yellow. The beak is black, with a yellow base. Juveniles are a little darker than adults, with white tips on the upper coverts that form a band easily seen in flight.

Three calls can be distinguished: a hoarse "kruch", which is mostly used in connection with courtship flights; when threatened by other predatory birds flying near the nest, both partners utter a long drawn-out "hiah"; or a "kyack- kyack", used by chicks in the nest when begging for food.

Range and habitat

The greater spotted eagle is found within large parts of the deciduous forest zone of the central and eastern Palearctic of Europe and Asia, from eastern Poland and the Baltic States in a band that is broad in the west and increasingly narrow towards the east, to southeastern China on the Pacific coast. The exact area of ​​the species is still unclear in the western part of its range because of the difficulty distinguishing it from the lesser spotted eagle (Clanga pomarina), with whom they share much of the same range and habitats.

In the north-south direction, the range extends from the southern limit of the boreal zone (coniferous forest) to the northern areas of the steppe. The greater spotted eagle lives in open, moist to wet forests and forest edges with adjacent swamps, marshes, bogs or wet meadows, as well as floodplains. Overall, the species is very tied to water-rich forest landscapes that are hardly influenced by humans.

Threats

The greater spotted eagle has been classified as "vulnerable" by the ICUN, with no more than 8,800 mature individuals within their breeding range. Reasons cited are habitat loss, persecution, and accidental poisoning throughout both breeding and winter ranges, as well as recently-discovered evidence of hybridization between it and the more common lesser spotted eagle