Species › Birds

Bonelli´s Eagle

Aquila fasciata

Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Presence in the Strait: Resident
Abundance: common
Protection in Spain: Vulnerable · Andalusian Catalogue
In Spanish: Águila perdicera

33% of its open observations in the area are from September.

Photograph: VivekMalleshappa, CC BY-SA, vía iNaturalist

Length: 70–74 cm
Wingspan: 150–170 cm
Weight: 1,600–2,500 g

Presence in the Strait

Common resident closely associated with mountainous areas (23 pairs).

Identification

Medium size; long, broad wings and long square-cut tail, greyish with a broad black terminal band. Dark brownish-grey upperparts with whitish mantle patch and variable amounts of white on leading edge of wing. White underparts narrowly streaked. In flight white of underparts contrasts with dark wings. Juveniles have pale rufous-buff underparts, finely streaked, and dark brown upperparts.

Movements

Sedentary with juvenile dispersion. The Western areas hold many juveniles from all over the Iberian Peninsula between August and April. Accipitridae Águila Rapaz forma clara pale morph Águila Calzada forma oscura dark morph forma clara pale morph ad. ad. Águila Perdicera juv. ad.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

33 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 9.0 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

Sensitive species (cliff nest, exposed to plundering and disturbance): its observations are shown with the location generalised to about 11 km, here and in the explorer. The original source keeps the exact position.

First open record: 20 April 1905
Latest record: 8 April 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Vulnerable
Spanish Catalogue: Vulnerable
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: VU · Vulnerable · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Same genus in the Strait

Greater Spotted Eagle62–74 cm · Occasional · overlapping size
Lesser Spotted Eagle65–77 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size
Tawny Eagle65–75 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size
Spanish Imperial Eagle75–84 cm · Resident
Booted Eagle45–50 cm · Seasonal

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
GBIF taxon key: 5844449

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: VivekMalleshappa, CC BY-SA, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Bonelli´s Eagle

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Gallery