Lesser Spotted Eagle

Aquila pomarina

Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Presence in the Strait: Vagrant
IUCN (global): LC · Least concern
In Spanish: Águila pomerana

46% of its open observations in the area are from September.

Photograph: i_c_riddell, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 65–77 cm
Wingspan: 170–205 cm
Weight: 1,100 g

Presence in the Strait

Accidental. Twenty six records (20 birds), most in April and September. Prenuptial in March (2 birds), April (6 birds) and May (1 birds) and postnuptial September (6 birds), October (4 birds) and November (1 bird).

Identification

Similar to a Spotted Eagle but more slender and more uniform colouration. Primary fingers less prominent with six rather than seven extended. Juveniles are far less spotted with white and have a small rufous nape-patch. They breed in Turkey and the Middle East. Accipitridae juv. ad. juv. Águila Imperial Ibérica ad. ad. Águila Real juv. ad. 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

46 %

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 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 7 October 2005
Latest record: 1 October 2024

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: Not included
Spanish Catalogue: Not included
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: Outside the Red List (not assessed)
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

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.

Same genus in the Strait

Bonelli´s Eagle70–74 cm · Resident · overlapping size
Spanish Imperial Eagle75–84 cm · Resident · overlapping size
Greater Spotted Eagle62–74 cm · Occasional · overlapping size
Golden Eagle76–89 cm · Occasional · overlapping size
Tawny Eagle65–75 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size

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: 8256382

Sources

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

Lesser Spotted Eagle

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Gallery