Lalibela, Ethiopia
January 2016

The Greater Spotted Eagle breeds from eastern Europe across Russia and central Asia to the Far East. It winters in southern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India and south-east Asia. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It breeds in wet forest and forest edges with nearby marshes or wet areas.

It is a medium sized, rather dark brown eagle with long wings and a relatively short, rounded tail. These photos are of a juvenile bird. From below note the creamy crissum, the pale trailing edges and the pale crescents at the carpal patches. From above it shows white spots, creamy trailing edges and a creamy crescent above the tail all of which features do not appear on the darker adult bird.

It tends to be silent when on migration.