Greater Spotted Eagle

The greater spotted eagle is a large, compact eagle, normally blackish-brown with a contrasting yellow cere, a short neck, a large and often shaggy-naped head and a strong bill. Its broad, long wings reach the tip of the short, rounded tail, giving an almost vulture-like silhouette in flight. It often perches in the open on treetops at forest edges, bushes, poles or river banks, and not uncommonly rests or forages on the ground in a hunched posture. It was once placed in the genus Aquila (Wikipedia, general species account).

It favours wetter places than most booted eagles, such as floodplains, bogs, lakes and ponds surrounded by woodland. It is an opportunistic forager, especially in winter, scavenging carrion and taking small mammals, frogs, water birds and occasionally reptiles and insects, usually hunting from a hidden perch over marshes or wet fields. It builds stick nests in large trees and lays one to three eggs. In India it is a winter migrant with a large range; SoIB 2023 finds its trends stable and rates it a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).