Birds of Iran

The Steppe Eagle, (Aquila nipalensis) is a passage migrant in central Iran, spending winter in flat planes around Yazd Province.They prefer open steppes and semi desert habitat between Kashan foothills and Yazd wadis.

some times steppe eagles are mistaken for Imperial Eagles. Imperial has contrary to uniform body plumage of steppe and a more streaked outfit. Bill is heavier in Imperial Eagle. Steppe Eagles come in variety of color tones that might be misleading in some scenarios. Imperial eagle has pale wedge on the rump, the paler inner primaries and the heavier bill (with a shorter gape line).

 

Steppe Eagle is about 62-81 cm (24-32 in) in length and has a wingspan of 165-200 cm (65-79 in). Females, weighing 2.3-4.9 kg (5-10.8 lbs), are slightly larger than males, at 2-3.5 kg (4.4-7.7 lbs). They winter widely in Central steppes of Iran. They tend to live close together while wintering in Iran. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. It was once considered to be closely related to the non-migratory Tawny Eagle, Aquila rapax, and the two forms have previously been treated as conspecific. They were split based on pronounced differences in morphology and anatomy (Clark, 1992; Olson, 1994; Sangsteret al., 2002); molecular analysis[citation needed] indicates that these birds are not even each other's closest relatives.