Booted Eagle

The Booted Eagle is a small eagle, about the same size as the Common Buzzard. It is already distinguished by its silhouette. The wings are longer, narrower, with parallel edges and especially six digitized flight feathers. The tail is longer, about equal to the width of the wing, and cut square at the end. The species is dimorphic. The pale phenotype is distinguished by its black and white appearance from below, with the flight feathers contrasting with the rest of the white plumage. The dark phenotype is entirely brown underneath, with the wing covers nevertheless paler than the flight feathers, a reddish brown. Always seen from below, the inner flight feathers are slightly transparent and form a bright panel in the hand against a clear sky. In the top view, the plumage pattern is typical and similar in both forms. Light beige zones strongly contrast with the dark background, especially the flight feathers and rump feathers in a V-shape. There is a specific diagnostic criterion, namely two small white spots at the attachment of the wing, commonly called position lights, very visible from the front. If the bird is perched, in addition to the above criteria, one should look at the tarsi that are feathered, like all eagles, and, on the pale form, darkly faced. The frequency of the dark morphotype seems to be increasing with latitude.