Lesser Spotted Eagle (Clanga pomarina)

The Lesser Spotted Eagle is diminutive for an eagle, being not much larger than a Common Buzzard. Mainly found in the east of our region, it is found in habitats where woodlands or forests abut fields and meadows. Where it is numerous pairs may nest as little as 1km apart, hiding their structures in tall trees close to the woodland edge.

The Lesser Spotted Eagle hunts in three ways. It will quarter the ground from up to 100m altitude, scanning the ground and diving down when it spies prey; it will perch on a tree limb and pounce down from there; and it will occasionally forage on the ground. Whatever method it uses the prey is taken on the ground, grabbed by the talons. Medium sized vertebrates of various sorts may be taken, presumably in accordance with their abundance. For example, in Greece snakes make up 70% of prey consumed; in Slovakia mammals such as voles are dominant. Lesser Spotted Eagles also feed on amphibians, lizards and birds.

By Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom – Lesser Spotted Eagle (Clanga pomarina), CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47786331

The Lesser Spotted Eagle always lays two eggs, several days apart. Since incubation begins with the first egg, one chick hatches before the other and has time to grow before it is joined by its sibling. For reasons that have yet to be adequately explained, this older bird of the two invariably kills the younger one, regardless of available food supply. The so-called “Cain and Abel Battle” is one of the great puzzles of bird biology.

This species is a summer visitor to Europe, arriving in April and leaving in September. It winters in East Africa and makes the journey via the narrow crossing of the Bosphorus.

From ‘Birds: A Complete Guide to All British and European Species’, by Dominic Couzens. Published by Collins and reproduced with permission.