Editing Lesser spotted eagle

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| image = עיט חורש.jpg
| image_caption = Juvenile<br/>Note white spots on wings<br/> and white V on rump
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Clanga pomarina'' |author=BirdLife International |date=2021 |page=e.T22696022A203665834 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22696022A203665834.en |access-date=14 February 2022}}</ref>
| genus = Clanga
| species = pomarina
| authority = ([[Christian Ludwig Brehm|Brehm, CL]], 1831)
| range_map = ClangaPomarinaIUCNver2018 2.png
| range_map_caption = Range of ''C. pomarina'' 
{{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#00FFFF|Passage|outline=gray}}
| synonyms = ''Aquila pomarina''
}}

The '''lesser spotted eagle''' ('''''Clanga pomarina''''') is a large [[Eastern Europe]]an [[bird of prey]]. Like all typical [[eagle]]s, it belongs to the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Accipitridae]]. The typical eagles are often united with the [[buteo]]s, [[sea eagle]]s, and other more heavy-set [[Accipitridae]], but more recently it appears as if they are less distinct from the more slender [[accipitrinae|accipitrine]] hawks than believed.

==Description==
[[File:Aquila pomarina orlik krzykliwyAM-crop.jpg|thumb|Adult in flight; white wing spots are lost while mature; only white V on rump remains]]
This is a medium-sized eagle, about {{cvt|60|cm}} in length and with a wingspan of {{cvt|150|cm}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.birdinginmalta.com/species_lesserspot.html | title=Lesser spotted eagle; Birdwatching in Malta }}</ref> Its head and wing coverts are pale brown and contrast with the generally dark plumage. The head and bill are small for an eagle.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ebird.org/species/leseag1 | title=Lesser spotted eagle; ebird.org }}</ref> Usually, a white patch occurs on the upper wings, and even adults retain a clearly marked white "V" on the rump; the wing markings are absent and the white "V" is not well-defined in the [[greater spotted eagle]].

The juvenile has less contrast in the wings, but the [[remiges]] bear prominent white spots. It differs from greater spotted eagle juveniles by a lack of [[wing covert]] spotting and the presence of a cream-colored neck patch.

The call is a dog-like ''yip''.

==Taxonomy and evolution==
[[File:Lesserspoteagle.JPG|thumb|A drawing of a lesser spotted eagle]]
The birds formerly considered to be the resident [[India]]n [[subspecies]] are now considered a separate [[species]], the [[Indian spotted eagle]] (''Clanga hastata''), quite distinct and readily separable by [[morphology (biology)|morphological]], [[behavior]]al, [[ecology|ecological]], and [[DNA sequence]] data. The European [[taxon]] is actually closer to the greater spotted eagle; their common ancestor seems to have diverged around the middle [[Pliocene]], perhaps some 3.6 million years ago,<ref name=ValiNote/> from the ancestors of the Indian birds. The "proto-spotted eagle" probably lived in the general region of [[Afghanistan]], being split into a northern and a southern lineage when both [[glaciers]] and [[desert]]s advanced in Central Asia as the [[Last glacial period|last ice age]] began. The northern lineage subsequently separated into the eastern (greater) and western (lesser) species of today, probably around the Pliocene-[[Pleistocene]] boundary not quite 2 million years ago.<ref name=Parry2002/><ref name=Rasmussen2005/><ref name=Vali2006/>

The present species [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridizes]] occasionally with the greater spotted eagle. Hybrid birds are almost impossible to identify if not seen up close.<ref name=Vali2004/>

==Distribution and habitat==
[[File:Clanga pomarina, Belarus 1.jpg|thumb|Adult in [[Belarus]]]]
The lesser spotted eagle breeds in [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]] and southeastward to [[Turkey]] and [[Armenia]];<ref name="ABCC"/>  and [[bird migration|winter]]s in [[Africa]]. This is a very wary species of open or lightly wooded country, in which it hunts small [[mammal]]s (especially [[Cricetidae|vole]]s, [[ground squirrel]]s, [[rat]]s, and [[mice]]) and similar terrestrial prey, such as small birds, amphibians, reptiles, and occasionally insects (including [[termite]]s).{{cn|date=February 2022}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Aquila_pomarina/ | title=Aquila pomarina (Lesser spotted eagle) | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/eagles/lesser-spotted-eagle | title=Lesser Spotted Eagle &#124; the Peregrine Fund }}</ref> It is known to occasionally feed on carrion.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/eagles/lesser-spotted-eagle | title=Lesser Spotted Eagle &#124; the Peregrine Fund }}</ref>

== Behaviour and ecology ==
[[File:Aquila pomarina nest with eggs.jpg|thumb|A two-egg [[clutch (eggs)|clutch]] in nest]]
The lesser spotted eagle uses regularly spaced territories consistently between years in the north-western part of its distribution. The distances between territories vary across the region, although this was not found to be related to breeding success. Synchronous variation in breeding success across the region indicates that the eagles are instead influenced by large-scale factors such as fluctuations in climate or prey availability.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Treinys, R. |author2=Bergmanis, U. | author3=Väli, Ü. |year=2017| title=Strong territoriality and weak density-dependent reproduction in Lesser Spotted Eagles ''Clanga pomarina''| journal=Ibis |volume=159| pages=343–351 | doi=10.1111/ibi.12454| issue=2}}</ref>
The lesser spotted eagle lays one to three white, buff-spotted [[egg (biology)|eggs]] in a tree nest. As usual for eagles, only in breeding seasons with very abundant prey does more than one young [[fledge]], but the female starts [[Avian incubation|incubating]] when the first egg has been laid,  thus the first young to hatch usually outgrows its clutch mate(s) and will kill and even eat them sooner or later.{{cn|date=February 2022}}

==References==
<!-- ActaOrnithoecol4:377. -->
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=Parry2002>{{cite journal |last1=Parry |first1=S.J. |last2=Clark |first2=W.S. |last3=Prakash |first3=V. |year=2002 |title=On the taxonomic status of the Indian Spotted Eagle ''Aquila hastata'' |journal=[[Ibis (journal)|Ibis]] |volume=144 |issue=4 |pages=665–675 |doi=10.1046/j.1474-919X.2002.00109.x}}</ref>

<ref name=Rasmussen2005>{{cite book |last1=Rasmussen |first1=Pamela C. |author-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen |last2=Anderton |first2=John C. |year=2005 |title=Birds of South Asia - The Ripley Guide |publisher=Lynx Edicions |location=Barcelona |isbn=978-84-87334-67-2}}</ref>

<ref name=Vali2004>{{cite journal |last1=Väli |first1=Ülo |last2=Lõhmus |first2=Asko |year=2004 |title=Nestling characteristics and identification of the lesser spotted eagle ''Aquila pomarina'', greater spotted eagle ''A. clanga'', and their hybrids |journal=[[Journal of Ornithology]] |volume=145 |issue=3 |pages=256–263 |doi=10.1007/s10336-004-0028-7|bibcode=2004JOrn..145..256V |s2cid=20893726 }}</ref>

<ref name=Vali2006>{{cite journal |last=Väli |first=Ülo |year=2006 |title=Mitochondrial DNA sequences support species status for the Indian Spotted Eagle ''Aquila hastata'' |journal=[[Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club]] |volume=126 |issue=3 |pages=238–242 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235355525 }}</ref>

<ref name=ABCC>{{cite web |url=http://www.abcc-am.org/lesser-spotted-eagle.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130183808/http://www.abcc-am.org/lesser-spotted-eagle.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=November 30, 2017 |title=Lesser Spotted Eagle ''Clanga pomarina'' in Armenia |website= Armenian Bird Census, TSE NGO]}}</ref>

<ref name=ValiNote>The estimate in {{harvnb|Väli|2006}} is certainly incorrect; it uses a [[molecular clock]] that is appropriate for small [[passerine]]s with half the [[generation time]]s of eagles.</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite conference |last=Svensson |first=Lars |author-link=Lars Svensson (ornithologist) |title=Underwing pattern of Steppe, Spotted and Lesser Spotted Eagles |pages=12–14 |conference=International Bird Identification: Proceedings of the 4th International Identification Meeting |location=Eilat |date=1–8 November 1986 |publisher=International Birdwatching Centre Eilat}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Clanga pomarina}}
{{Wikispecies|Clanga pomarina}}
* [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/134.pdf Lesser spotted eagle species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds]
* {{BirdLife|22696022|Clanga pomarina}}
* {{Avibase|name=Clanga pomarina}}
* {{InternetBirdCollection|lesser-spotted-eagle-aquila-pomarina}}
* {{VIREO|Lesser+Spotted+Eagle}}
* {{Xeno-canto species|Clanga|pomarina|Lesser Spotted Eagle}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q232523}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Clanga (genus)|lesser spotted eagle]]
[[Category:Birds of prey of Europe]]
[[Category:Birds of West Asia]]
[[Category:Birds of the Himalayas]]
[[Category:Birds of Africa]]
[[Category:Birds of East Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1831|lesser spotted eagle]]
[[Category:Eagles]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Christian Ludwig Brehm|lesser spotted eagle]]