The Indian spotted eagle (''Clanga hastata'') is a large
bird of prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...
native to
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
. Like all typical
eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...
s, it belongs to the family
Accipitridae
The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-s ...
. The typical eagles are often united with the
buteo
''Buteo'' is a genus of medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called "buzzards", but " hawk" is used in the New World (Etymology: ''Buteo'' is the Latin na ...
s,
sea eagle
A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the genus ''Haliaeetus'' in the bird of prey family Accipitridae.
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus ''Haliaeetus'' ...
s and other more heavyset
Accipitridae
The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-s ...
, but more recently it appears as if they are less distinct from the more slender
accipitrine hawks.
Description
![Indian Spotted Eagle near Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Indian_Spotted_Eagle_near_Nalsarovar_Bird_Sanctuary.jpg)
The Indian spotted eagle is about 60 cm in length and has a wingspan of 150 cm. It is broad-headed, with the widest mouth of all spotted eagles.
[Parry, S.J., Clark, W.S., Prakash, V. (2002) On the taxonomic status of the Indian Spotted Eagle ''Aquila hastata''. Ibis Volume 144 Issue 4: 665 - 675] This species has a lighter coloration overall compared to its relatives, with a darker
iris
Iris most often refers to:
*Iris (anatomy), part of the eye
*Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess
* ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants
* Iris (color), an ambiguous color term
Iris or IRIS may also refer to:
Arts and media
Fictional ent ...
that makes the eyes appear darker than the plumage (rather than the other way around as in the northern spotted eagles). Adults can be told apart from the greater spotted eagle by its lighter color, darker eyes, and habitat preference. After about three or four months the young birds are glossy brown with the tips of the head and neck feathers being creamy and giving a spotted appearance. The upper tail coverts are light brown with white giving a barred appearance. The median coverts have large creamy spots. After about eighteen months the bird moults and becomes a darker shade and has less spots. Some older juveniles, unlike the lesser and greater species, are not strongly spotted at all, making the common name somewhat misleading, and also lack the creamy buff nape patch of the juvenile lesser spotted eagle.
Distribution and habitat
The Indian spotted eagle is native in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
, where it prefers subtropical and tropical dry forests to plantations and arable land. It is vagrant in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. In Nepal, it is resident and breeding in
Chitwan
Chitwan District (, , ) is one of 77 districts of Nepal, and takes up the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province. Bharatpur, largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu, is its administrative centre. It covers . In 2011 it had a population of 579 ...
and
Bardia National Park
;
, iucn_category = II
, photo = Bardiya_02.jpg
, photo_caption =
, photo_alt=
, map_image =
, map_caption = Location in Nepal
, location = Nepal
, map = Nepal
, relief = 1
, coordinates =
, area_km2 = 968
, established = 1988
, gov ...
s, in
Sukla Phanta and
Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is a protected area in the Terai of eastern Nepal covering of wetlands in the Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur Districts. It comprises extensive reed beds and freshwater marshes in the floodplain of the Kosi River ...
s and in some unprotected areas in the
Terai
, image =Terai nepal.jpg
, image_size =
, image_alt =
, caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal
, map =
, map_size =
, map_alt =
, map_caption =
, biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm
, global200 = Terai-Duar savanna a ...
.
[BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: ''Aquila hastata'']
online
/ref> In India, it is distributed sparingly over the Gangetic plains
The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Ba ...
, in the east up to Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...
, in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
and southern Orissa
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...
, but in the south limited to Kotagiri
Kotagiri or Kothagiri is a taluk and a Panchayat town in The Nilgiris District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the third largest hill station in the Nilgiri hills.
Kotagiri is located at . It has an average elevation of .
Demographi ...
and Mudumalai, Nilgiris district
The Nilgiris district () is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri ( en, Blue Mountains) is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Ker ...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
and Tumakuru
Tumkur, officially renamed as Tumakuru, is a city located in the southern part of Indian state of Karnataka. Tumkur is situated at a distance of northwest of Bangalore, the state capital along NH 48 and NH 73. It is the headquarters of the ...
, Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
.
This species can often be approached quite closely for a large raptor
Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to:
Animals
The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons.
* Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on ...
. Unlike the greater spotted eagle, which is a winter visitor to Indian wetlands, this species does not show any special affinity for wetland habitats.
Systematics, taxonomy and evolution
The Indian spotted eagle was earlier considered as the resident of eastern subspecies of the lesser spotted eagle
The lesser spotted eagle (''Clanga pomarina'') is a large Eastern European bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The typical eagles are often united with the buteos, sea eagles, and other more heavy-set Acc ...
but has proven quite distinct and readily separable by morphological, behavioral, ecological
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
and DNA sequence data. The Indian lineage seems to have diverged around the middle Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58[greater spotted eagle
The greater spotted eagle (''Clanga clanga''), occasionally called the spotted eagle, is a large bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs indicate it is a member of the subfamily Aquil ...](_blank)
s. The "proto-spotted eagle" probably lived in the general region of Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, being split into a northern and a southern lineage when both glaciers and deserts advanced in Central Asia as the last ice age began.[Väli, Ü (2006) Mitochondrial DNA sequences support species status for the Indian Spotted Eagle ''Aquila hastata''. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 126 (3): 238-242]
download pdf
The spotted eagles as a group although quite distinct from the typical members, were formerly included in the genus '' Aquila'', the "true eagles". They are now placed in their separate genus '' Clanga''
References
Further reading
* Parry, S.J.; Clark, W.S. & Prakash, V. (2002): On the taxonomic status of the Indian Spotted Eagle ''Aquila hastata''. ''Ibis
The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word ...
'' 144(4): 665–675. (HTML abstract)
* Rasmussen, Pamela C. & Anderton, John C. (2005): ''Birds of South Asia - The Ripley Guide''. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
* Väli, Ülo (2006): Mitochondrial DNA sequences support species status for the Indian Spotted Eagle ''Aquila hastata''. '' Bull. B.O.C.'' 126(3): 238–242
PDF fulltext
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q22810735
Eagles
Clanga (genus)
Birds of Nepal
Birds of Pakistan
Birds of India
Birds described in 1834
Taxa named by René Lesson