About the Bonelli's Eagle
Bonelli's eagle is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an exploration of Sardinia. Like all eagles, Bonelli's eagle belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs marked it as member of the Aquilinae or booted eagle subfamily. This species breeds from southern Europe, Africa on the montane perimeter of the Sahara Desert, and across the Indian subcontinent to Indonesia. In Eurasia, this species may be found as far west as Portugal and as far east as southeastern China and Thailand. It is usually a resident breeder.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
Voice: Bonelli's eagle is largely silent outside of breeding season and is a somewhat infrequent vocalizer even in the context of breeding. Its calls are less well studied than those of the African hawk-eagle, which although a tropical species, also generally ceases to call outside of the breeding season.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Taiwan, Germany, Mauritania, Austria, Belgium, Georgia, Netherlands.
When to see it
Peak activity in October · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Tawny EagleAquila rapaxThe tawny eagle is considered to appear "inelegant, scruffy-looking" but has a fairly characteristic aquiline silhouette.
Steppe EagleAquila nipalensisThe steppe eagle is a large, bulky and robust-looking eagle.
Eastern Imperial EagleAquila heliacaThe eastern imperial eagle is a large eagle, but usually falls near the average size of the large-bodied genus Aquila.
Learn the Bonelli's Eagle for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.