Description:

Medium-sized eagle with rather short and broad wings, stocky head and short tail. Has less protruding head in flight, with shorter wings and less deeply fingered wing-tips; bill is smaller with rounded, nostril and shorter gape; lacks barring on underside of flight and tail feathers, and dark trailing edge to wing and has a dark chin.

Distribution:

Rare passage migrant through the central and eastern parts of Gilgit-Baltistan. Occurs in open habitats such as steppe and semi-desert shrublands, grasslands and around large lakes. Migrates over landscapes up to 4400m.

Behavior:

Forages by soaring high and diving down, still-hunting from perch, or walking on ground. Sometimes consorts with Black Kites at carrion, and has been observed kleptoparasitizing other raptors. Very variable diet, depending on availability of prey species. Mainly small mammals, birds, amphibians, lizards, snakes, small fish, carrion and sometimes insects.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Greater Spotted Eagle in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Greater Spotted Eagle

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.