Editing Booted eagle (section)

== Behaviour and ecology ==
The booted eagle typically flies at relatively low heights, making it conspicuous. However, the dark morph can be confused with other local medium sized birds of prey.<ref name=":1" /> In South Africa, 20% of the population is the dark colour morph.

=== Diet and hunting ===
The booted eagle typically hunts on the wing, stooping quickly with wings folded in and feet extended.<ref name=":5" /> It hunts small [[mammal]]s, [[reptile]]s and [[bird]]s.<ref name="Iziko" /> In Southern Africa, it has been noted that birds are the most common prey. It has been suggested that frogs comprise an important part of the booted eagle diet, however this has not been observed in the Southern African populations. Studies conducted in south-western South Africa observed that they ate birds, lizards, and rodents.<ref name=":6" />

===Breeding===
[[File:AquilaPennata nest.jpg|thumb|right|Booted eagle nest]]
[[File:Hieraaetus pennatus MWNH 0846.JPG|right|upright=0.8|thumb|Eggs, in the collection of [[Museum Wiesbaden]]]]
This eagle lays 1–2 [[egg (biology)|eggs]] in a nest built from sticks and lined with green leaves in a [[tree]] or on a crag, or it takes over the disused nest of another large bird such as a [[black kite]] or [[grey heron]]. The female incubates the egg for around 45 days and is fed by the male, after hatching she guards the nest and the young while the male provides all the food. The chick fledges after 70–75 days.<ref name="Iziko" /> Booted eagles are monogamous and perform courtship rituals of sophisticated flight demonstrations.<ref name=":7" />

==== Southern Africa ====
The population of eagles which breed in the Cape region of South Africa typically do so shortly after arriving in August. The breeding pairs nest on cliff ledges, this is one of the ways in which this population differs to the Palearctic booted eagles.<ref name=":5" /> It has been observed that the incubation period for this population is about 40 days, and the nestling period around two months.<ref name=":6" /> It was found in a study conducted in South Africa that typical to the species, booted eagles nested on cliffs at an average height of 60m. The clutch size was also comparable with Palearctic populations, with pairs generally successfully raising two chicks according to existing evidence.<ref name=":5" />  The eggs are typically a conspicuous white colour sometimes with red speckles.<ref name=":2" /> The dimensions of the eggs are consistent with those of Palearctic populations.<ref name=":5" /> The nests of the booted eagles in Southern Africa also appear to be less rigid than those of their Palearctic counterparts.<ref name=":5" />

==== Northern African ====
Populations of booted eagles migrate to parts of North Africa during European winter and breed there. A study conducted in Algeria determined that these birds typically incubate their eggs for a period of 33 to 38 days.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Bouchahdane |first1=Issam |last2=Boukhemza |first2=Mohamed |last3=Souttou |first3=Karim |last4=Derridj |first4=Arezki |date=2019-12-01 |title=Breeding Biology of Booted Eagle Hieraaetus Pennatus (Gmelin, Jf, 1788): The First Study in North Africa |journal=Ekológia (Bratislava) |language=en |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=382–391 |doi=10.2478/eko-2019-0028 |issn=1337-947X|doi-access=free }}</ref> Similarly to populations further North and South, it was most likely for clutches to consist of two eggs (67.6%).<ref name=":4" />