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Classification

• Order: Accipitriformes
• Family: Accipitridés
• Genus: Aquila
• Species: Adalbert

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descriptor

• Linnaeus, 1758

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biometrics

• Size: 85 cm
• Wingspan: 190 to 210 cm
• Weight: 3000 to 3500 g

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Distribution

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bird song

Find out more about the bird song

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IUCN CONSERVATION STATUS

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IDENTIFICATION

The Spanish Imperial eagle is one of the rarest birds of prey on the European continent, and is characterised, in the case of the Aldebert subspecies which breeds only on the Iberian peninsula, by a description in the coloration of its plumage which differentiates it quite clearly from the heliaca type race.
It is a strong-bodied eagle with an on its back an almost uniform reddish-brown surface with irregular white patches on the shoulders, slightly larger than those of the heliaca form. Adult plumage is very dark brown, with occasional reddish tones on the upper back.
The feathers on the head and neck are very light and characteristically lanceolate, usually yellowish or creamy white, and from afar seen as completely white, especially in older eagles. The forehead is dark brown, sometimes almost black, but the most remarkable detail of its plumage is undoubtedly the white front edge of the wings and the pure white shoulder patches which vary in size, probably depending on the age of the birds. The upper part of the tail is light grey, frequently almost white or dotted with brown, with a broad black sub-terminal band and white rectrices. The rest of the plumage is dark brown, almost blackish. The irises are hazel, and the beak and legs are yellow.
Eaglets are pale reddish with a whitish throat and rump. The tail may be reddish brown or greyish with an ochre-yellow tip, a colour they quickly lose with the first moult. In flight, an extensive whitish patch at the base of the primary wings is easily discernible. The irises are dark brown and the beak and legs yellow. Around the age of two or three, dark brown feathers appear on the throat, breast and upper and lower parts of the wings. The belly is still yellowish. The definitive adult plumage is reached between the age of 6 and 8.

HABITAT

The Spanish Iberian eagle lives in mountainous areas, but not at very high altitudes as the species requires large trees and open land at the foot of slopes for hunting. It often lives at low altitudes in meadows with sparse trees. It seems that its habitat is logically conditioned by the abundance of prey, so that it can reduce the size of its territory if the density of eagles is high. Under these conditions, nests can be separated by short distances. In the south-west of the Iberian Peninsula, the Imperial Eagle’s biotopes more or less coincide with those of the Black Vulture. Its nest is often found close to that of the Monk Vulture. Its strong presence in the south-western quadrant of the Spanish provinces can be explained above all by the abundance of lagomorphs (wild rabbits, hares) in this area, which seem to form a major part of its diet.