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| Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis
- Juvenile male |
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| Photographer : | © Pranay Rao Juvvadi |
| Location : | Pahadi Shareef, 25 km from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Date : |
28 January 2006 |
| English synonyms: | Eastern Steppe Eagle (nipalensis), Western Steppe-Eagle (orientalis) |
| Bird Family : | Accipitrinae - Hawks, Bazas, Honey-buzzards, Eagles, Kites, Vultures, Harriers & Buzzards |
| Bird Group : | CICONIIFORMES |
| Red Data Status : | Endangered |
| Remarks : | Just before photographing the juvenile Steppe Eagle, I photographed another Steppe Eagle (a sub-adult) on the same stump. The juvenile eagle came a couple of minutes later and landed next to the sub-adult bird. As the juvenile landed, the sub-adult bird flew off the tree. The juvenile bird was noticeably smaller and less robustly built than the sub-adult bird (female). This difference in size between the two birds told me that the smaller juvenile bird was a male. In raptors, males are smaller than the females (reverse sexual dimorphism). - PRJ |
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