152. Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)

Booted Eagles come in 2 main colour morphs, a dark and a pale. I've chosen the pale as it's the more common towards the west of the eagle's range. They breed in parts of the Mediterranean (Spain, Greece) and also in France, and more widely in parts of eastern Europe; they winter in sub-Saharan Africa. They are small Buzzard-like eagles, but with 6 'fingers' in the hand instead of the buzzards' 5 so that the wing appears less narrow towards the tip; most Booted Eagles also have small white patches on their forewings either side of their head ('landing lights') which buzzards lack (although very occasionally Honey Buzzards can have these too). Juvenile plumage is quite similar to the adults'. Booted Eagles like a mix of open ground and forests, hills and mountains.

Booted Eagle, ©JohnBWilson, via Flickr Creative Commons.

Booted Eagle painting.

I think my watercolour style is probably currently best described as 'enthusiastic' - basically throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't! Hopefully over time and with more practice I will develop a more consistent style. For now though I think this one worked :o)