A Short-toed Eagle, Circaetus gallicus, soaring in a thermal getting the height to cross the Straits of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco as part of its autumn migration.
Many years ago, Duncan and I were in the Boquer Valley in Majorca when we saw a raptor which we couldn’t identify from the small field guide we had taken out with us. Eventually I unilaterally decided it was an escaped falconer’s bird, as it seemed to have ‘jesses’ which it was pecking at in flight, as though it was uncomfortable.
When we got back to our accommodation we found the plumage variation we’d seen and it was identified there as its alternative English name, Short-toed Snake Eagle. It’s so easy when you know – the bird we saw had a snake in its talons and was snacking on it as it flew past.
This photo of a Short-toed Eagle is copyright © Liz Leyden, all rights reserved.
It is available to license as a stock photo via my portfolio on iStock.
