Editing Booted eagle

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{About|species|the subfamily of birds sometimes called "Booted eagles"|Aquilinae}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |year=2021 |title=''Hieraaetus pennatus'' |page=e.T22696092A206456835 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22696092A206456835.en}}</ref>
| image = Booted eagle (India, 2012).jpg
| image_caption = A dark morph wintering in India
|image2 =Booted Eagle.ogg
| taxon = Hieraaetus pennatus
| authority = ([[Johann Friedrich Gmelin|Gmelin]], 1788)
| synonyms = 
*''Aquila minuta'' <small>Brehm, 1831</small>
*''Aquila pennata'' <small>Gmelin, 1788</small>
*''Hieraaetus pennatus minisculus'' <small>Yosef et al., 2000</small>
| range_map = HieraaetusPennatusIUCNver2018 2.png
| range_map_caption = Range of ''H. pennatus''{{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#008000|Resident|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#00FFFF|Passage|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}}
}}

The '''booted eagle''' ('''''Hieraaetus pennatus''''', also classified as '''''Aquila pennata''''') is a medium-sized mostly migratory [[bird of prey]] with a wide distribution in the [[Palearctic]] and southern Asia, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia, with a small, disjunct breeding population in south-western Africa. Like all [[eagle]]s, it belongs to the family ''[[Accipitridae]]''.

==Taxonomy==
The booted eagle was [[Species description|formally described]] in 1788 by the German naturalist [[Johann Friedrich Gmelin]] in his revised and expanded edition of [[Carl Linnaeus]]'s ''[[Systema Naturae]]''. He placed it with the eagle, falcons and relatives in the [[genus]] ''[[Falco (bird)|Falco]]'' and coined the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Falco pennatus''.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Gmelin | first=Johann Friedrich | author-link=Johann Friedrich Gmelin| year=1788 | title=Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | edition=13th | volume=1, Part 1 | language=Latin | location=Lipsiae [Leipzig] | publisher=Georg. Emanuel. Beer | page=272 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2896872 }}</ref> Gmelin based his description on "''Le Faucon Patu'' " or "''Falco pedibus pennatis'' " that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by the French zoologist [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson]]. Brisson had examined a specimen in the collection of Madame de Bandeville who was also known as Marie Anne Catherine Bigot de Graveron (1709-1787).<ref>{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés | volume=6, Supplement| language=French, Latin | pages=22–25; Plate 1  | location=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36211620 }} The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen.</ref><ref>{{ cite journal | last=Thiebaud | first=François | date=2018 | title=Une femme collectionneuse au XVIIIe siècle, Marie-Anne Catherine Bigot de Graveron, Présidente de Bandeville | journal=Bulletin de la Société Historique et Archéologique de l'Essonne et du Hurepoix | volume=88 | issue= | pages=19–37 | url=https://saintcyrsousdourdan.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/marie-anne-bigot-de-graveron-presidente-de-bandeville-rev-1.pdf }}</ref> The booted eagle is now placed in the genus ''[[Hieraaetus]]'' that was introduced in 1844 by the German naturalist [[Johann Jakob Kaup]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Kaup  | first=Johann Jakob  | author-link=Johann Jakob Kaup | year=1844 | title=Classification der Saugethiere und Vogel | language=German | location=Darmstadt  | publisher=Carl Wilhelm Leske | page=120 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35282202 }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=August 2022 | title=Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors | work=IOC World Bird List Version 12.2  | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/raptors/| publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=5 December 2022 }}</ref> The genus name combines the [[Ancient Greek]] ''hierax'' meaning "hawk" with ''aetos'' meaning "eagle". The specific epithet ''pennatus'' is [[Latin]] and means "feathered".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=[https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n192/mode/1up 192], [https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n296/mode/1up 296] }}</ref> The booted eagle has no recognised [[subspecies]].<ref name=ioc/>

Based on recent [[Genetics|genetic]] research some authors reclassified this species to the [[genus]] ''Aquila'', along with some<ref name =  BB>{{Cite journal |first=Martin |last=Collinson |title=Splitting headaches? Recent taxonomic changes affecting the British and Western Palaearctic lists |journal=[[British Birds (magazine)|British Birds]] |volume=99 |date=June 2006 |pages=306–323 |url=http://www.britishbirds.co.uk/article/splitting-headaches-recent-taxonomic-changes-affecting-the-british-and-western-palearctic-lists/ |access-date=13 April 2015 |archive-date=29 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229114216/https://britishbirds.co.uk/article/splitting-headaches-recent-taxonomic-changes-affecting-the-british-and-western-palearctic-lists/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> or all<ref name=Clements /> other ''[[Hieraaetus]]'' species. As it is the [[type species]] of ''Hieraaetus'', should any of the hawk-eagles have been retained in a distinct genus then a new name for that group would have been necessary. However, [[DNA]] research has shown it forms a [[monophyletic]] [[clade]] with [[Ayres's hawk eagle]], [[Wahlberg's eagle]], [[little eagle]] and the [[pygmy eagle]] and this clade is often treated as forming the genus ''[[Hieraeetus]]''<ref name = TED>{{cite web | url = http://www.eagledirectory.org/species/booted_eagle.html | title = Booted Eagle - ''Aquila pennata'' | access-date = 2016-11-03 | publisher = The Eagle Directory | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151208231630/http://www.eagledirectory.org/species/booted_eagle.html | archive-date = 8 December 2015 | url-status = dead }}</ref> and most reference lists currently use ''H. pennata''.<ref name=BOW-Raptors /><ref name=ITIS-Hieraaetus /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal | last1=Lerner | first1=H. | last2=Christidis | first2=L. | last3=Gamauf | first3=A. | last4=Griffiths | first4=C. | last5=Haring | first5=E. | last6=Huddleston | first6=C.J. | last7=Kabra | first7=S. | last8=Kocum | first8=A. | last9=Krosby | first9=M. | last10=Kvaløy | first10=K. | last11=Mindell | first11=D. | last12=Rasmussen | first12=P. | last13=Røv | first13=N. | last14=Wadleigh | first14=R. | last15=Wink | first15=M. | last16=Gjershaug | first16=J.O. | date=2017 | title=Phylogeny and new taxonomy of the Booted Eagles (Accipitriformes: Aquilinae) | journal=Zootaxa | volume=4216 | issue=4 | pages=301–320 | doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4216.4.1 | pmid=28183111 | doi-access=free| hdl=11250/2443953 | hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Although some authors name a number of [[subspecies]] most now treat it as a [[monotypic]] species.<ref name = Avibase>{{cite web | url = http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=4B8CC2853542FFED | title = Booted Eagle ''Hieraaetus pennatus'' (Gmelin, JF, 1788)| access-date = 2016-11-03 | publisher = Denis Lepage|work  = Avibase}}</ref>

''Aquila minut'' described by Brehm (1831) is this bird. The [[fossil]] bird described under the same name by Milne-Edwards (1871) is preliminarily known as ''[[Hieraaetus]] edwardsi'', but might belong in ''[[Aquila (genus)|Aquila]]''.

==Description==
[[File:AquilaPennata.jpg|thumb|upright|Light morph from below]]
[[File:Hieraaetus.jpg|thumb|Showing the white marking on the wings termed as "landing lights"]]
The booted eagle is a small eagle, comparable to the [[common buzzard]] in size though more eagle-like in shape. Males grow to about {{convert|510|–|770|g|lb|abbr=on}} in [[weight]], with females about {{convert|840|–|1025|g|lb|abbr=on}} with a length of 40&nbsp;cm and a wingspan of 110–132&nbsp;cm. There are two relatively distinct plumage [[Forms in zoological literature|forms]]. Pale birds are mainly light grey with a darker head and flight [[feather]]s. The other form has mid-brown [[plumage]] with dark grey [[flight feather]]s.<ref name = Kemp>{{cite book | last1 = Kemp | first1 = Alan | last2 = Kemp | first2 = Meg | year = 1998 | title = SASOL Birds of Prey of Africa and its Islands | pages = 104–105 | publisher = New Holland | isbn = 1-85974-100-2}}</ref> It was found in a study investigating polymorphism that these discrete colour morphs follow a Mendelian inheritance pattern, where the paler allele is dominant.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Bosch |first=Josep |date=2019-07-03 |title=Clinal polymorphism variation in the Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus : the influence of climate during the breeding season |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00063657.2019.1657064 |journal=Bird Study |language=en |volume=66 |issue=3 |pages=306–316 |doi=10.1080/00063657.2019.1657064 |bibcode=2019BirdS..66..306B |s2cid=203374811 |issn=0006-3657|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In South Africa, 20% of the population is the dark colour morph. However, the study found that the darker morphs are much more common in the eastern populations such as in Russia.<ref name=":7" /> Booted eagles are typically seen in pairs or as solitary individuals.<ref name=":1">Boshoff, A.F. and Allan, D.G., 1997. Booted eagle. ''The Atlas of South African Birds'', ''1'', pp.184-186.</ref> 
The [[Bird song|call]] is a shrill ''kli-kli-kli''.<ref name = Kemp/>

[[File:Hieraaetus pennatus01.jpg|thumb|''Hieraaetus pennatus'']]

==Distribution and habitat==
The booted eagle has breeding populations in many different regions in both the northern and southern hemisphere. These include southern [[Europe]], [[North Africa]] and across [[Asia]], and also in western [[South Africa]] and [[Namibia]].<ref name=Iziko>{{cite web | url = http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/birds/accipitridae/aquila_pennatus.htm | title = ''Aquila pennatus'' (Booted eagle) | access-date = 2016-11-02 | publisher = Iziko Museums of Southern Africa | work = Biodiversity Explorer | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160327005804/http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/birds/accipitridae/aquila_pennatus.htm | archive-date = 27 March 2016}}</ref>
The northern populations are [[bird migration|migratory]] spending November to February<ref name=Iziko/> in [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] and [[South Asia]], while the small southern African populations is sedentary. This is a [[species]] of wooded, often hilly countryside with some open areas. It breeds in rocky, broken terrain but migrants will use almost any type of habitat other than dense forest.<ref name = Iziko/> The birds of the Palearctic breeding population tend to nest in coniferous or deciduous woodlands and often in trees.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Steyn |first1=Peter |last2=Grobler |first2=J. H. |date=1981-06-01 |title=Breeding Biology of the Booted Eagle in South Africa |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00306525.1981.9633593 |journal=Ostrich |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=108–118 |doi=10.1080/00306525.1981.9633593 |bibcode=1981Ostri..52..108S |issn=0030-6525|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Southern African populations ===
It is believed that there may be three separate groups of booted eagles in Southern Africa.<ref name=":1" /> There is evidence of a population which breeds in the south-western Cape region of South Africa, arriving in early August, laying eggs in September, and leaving in March of the following year.<ref name=":5" /> From about April to July the birds migrate northwards, some possibly overwintering in Namibia.<ref name=":1" /> A small breeding population in Northern Namibia has also been observed. The third group is a non-breeding population thought to migrate south from Eurasia and North Africa in summer, however no empirical evidence of this has been documented.<ref name=":1" /> These booted eagle populations are not sub-specifically distinct from those in Palearctic regions.

In South Africa, booted eagles also occur in hilly and open landscapes and in contrast to their Northern Hemisphere conspecifics, typically breed strictly on rocky cliffs in ravines and gorges. However, evidence has been found in South Africa of birds nesting in trees such as Euphorbias.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Steyn |first1=Peter |last2=Grobler |first2=J. H. |date=1985-03-01 |title=Supplementary Observations on the Breeding Biology of the Booted Eagle in Southern Africa |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00306525.1985.9639584 |journal=Ostrich |volume=56 |issue=1–3 |pages=151–156 |doi=10.1080/00306525.1985.9639584 |bibcode=1985Ostri..56..151S |issn=0030-6525|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This bird is most common in the low stature shrublands of the Fynbos and Karoo, and more specifically the ecotone between the two biomes.<ref name=":1" />

== 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" />

== Conservation and threats ==
There is a great lack of research about this migratory species. The Southern African populations were relatively recently discovered in the 1980s, possibly suggesting that they migrated due to changing climate and environmental conditions. Changes in human land use may have driven the changes in migration patterns of these birds.<ref name=":1" /> It is also thought that this species has been overlooked in Southern Africa due to the remote and discrete nature of their nesting sites.<ref name=":6" /> This emphasizes the need for further research to fully understand the ecology and conservation status of this species.

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=Clements>According to Avibase, ''The Clements Checklist'' first reassigned the ''Hieraaetus'' spp. to ''Aquila'' in the 2001 revisions to the 5th edition. However, in the 2009 revisions to the 6th edition, four species (including booted eagle) were moved back to ''Hieraaetus''.

* {{cite book |last1=Clements |first1=James F. |title=The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World |edition=6th |date=June 2007 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca, New York |pages=47–48}}
* {{cite web |author1=The Clements Checklist team |title=Updates & Corrections – December 2009 |url=http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/updateindex/dec09overview/dec09/ |website=The Cornell Lab of Ornithology|date=23 December 2009 |quote=Pages 47-48, Wahlberg’s Eagle ''Aquila wahlbergi'', Booted Eagle ''Aquila pennata'', Little Eagle ''Aquila morphnoides'', Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle ''Aquila ayresii''. All of these eagles belong in the genus ''Hieraaetus''}}</ref>

<ref name=BOW-Raptors>{{cite journal |editor1-last=Gill |editor1-first=Frank |editor2-last=Donsker |editor2-first=David |title=New World vultures, Secretarybird, kites, hawks & eagles |url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/raptors/ |website=IOC World Bird List, version 4.2 |publisher=International Ornithologists' Union|doi=10.14344/IOC.ML.4.2 |year=2014|doi-access=free }}</ref>

<ref name=ITIS-Hieraaetus>{{cite web |title=''Hieraaetus'' Kaup, 1844 |url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=175563 |website=Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) [online database] |access-date=22 June 2014}}</ref>

}}
{{refbegin}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite conference |last=Clark |first=William S. |title=The rufous morph of the Booted Eagle |pages=21–24 |conference=International Bird Identification: Proceedings of the 4th International Identification Meeting |location=Eilat |date=1–8 November 1986 |publisher=International Birdwatching Centre Eilat}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lerner |first1=H.R.L. |first2=D.P. |last2=Mindell |year=2005 |title=Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=327–346 |url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~hlerner/LernerMindell2005Proofs.pdf |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2005.04.010 |pmid=15925523|bibcode=2005MolPE..37..327L }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/136.pdf Booted Eagle species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds]
* [http://www.oiseaux.net/birds/photos/booted.eagle.html Booted eagle Photos] at [http://www.oiseaux.net Oiseaux.net]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141202060659/http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/127_BootedEagleHpennatus.pdf Ageing and sexing (PDF; 4.2 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze]
* [http://nagpurbirds.org/bootedeagle/picture/1685 Booted Eagle from Nagpur, India, photo by Anuj Kale]
* [http://globalraptors.org/grin/SpeciesResults.asp?specID=8351 Booted Eagle on the Global Raptor Information Network] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102184652/http://globalraptors.org/grin/SpeciesResults.asp?specID=8351 |date=2 January 2016 }}
* {{BirdLife|22696092|Hieraaetus pennatus}}
* {{InternetBirdCollection|booted-eagle-hieraaetus-pennatus}}
* {{VIREO|Booted+Eagle}}
* {{IUCN_Map|22696092/210521869|Hieraaetus pennatus}}
* {{Xeno-canto species|Hieraaetus|pennatus|Booted eagle}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q182971}}

[[Category:Hieraaetus]]
[[Category:Eagles]]
[[Category:Birds of Eurasia]]
[[Category:Birds of Southern Africa]]
[[Category:Birds of Africa]]
[[Category:Birds of prey of Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1788]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin]]