Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata)

OTHER NAMES: N/A

Latin Etymology: Aquila ("eagle") fasciata ("banded")

                                Adult Bonelli's Eagle (subspecies A. f. fasciata) at Monfrague National Park, Spain - April 2016

Featured Subspecies: Aquila fasciata fasciata 

Weight: 1.6-2.4kg  /  Length: 55-65cm  /  Wingspan: 150-180cm

NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Bonelli's Eagle is a medium sized eagle found in the Mediterranean then in a patchy distribution through to the Pacific coast of China.  However, it apparently has a bit of a reputation as a tricky bird to see due to it's habits; it generally is a fairly shy species that nests on cliffs and crags in forests and is usually only seen at great height.  When seen on a trip with Luis Sitges to the Monfrague national park, he strongly impressed on me how rare it was to get a sighting of this species at all, let alone the very close views we were lucky to have.  It is named after the 19th Century Italian ornithologist Franco Andrea Bonelli who first described this species to science.

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Aquila
Subspecies: A, f, fasciata, A. f. renschi

 - Sighting Locations -

SPAIN - Spain - Águila Perdicera - ("Lost-wax Eagle")

Scarce and Local Resident

 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: Seen at Monfrague (1 adult at great height, 2 adults in flight)

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto