The short-toed eagle is a strictly migratory raptor that passes the winter east of the Sahara in the central south-western Palaearctic region. It arrives in Slovakia between the end of March and the beginning of April and usually leaves our country in September. It lives in warm areas with broadleaved or mixed forests, it prefers pines, with small clearings, meadows and pastures. The wingspan of the short-toed eagle is 180 centimetres and it weighs between 1.5 and 2 kg. The female eagle is bigger than its male counterpart. The top of its body is dark brown, while the underside is mostly pale. Only the head, neck and breast are dark. Its wings are long, wide and include striking stretched out finger flight feathers. On its pale tail there are three dark stripes, the final one is wider. In comparison to adult birds, young eagles are darker and have more spots on their bodies. 

     It is possible to spot them gliding over their hunting grounds. When it spots its prey, it flaps its wings to hold its position. They pair for life and return every year to their breeding site, where they perform a “swing-like” wedding dance. They build a new nest every year and can normally be found in conifers, in particular, pines. Their nest is quite small for the size of bird and the female eagle usually lays one, white or greenish, egg, rarely two, with an incubation period of 35 days. The parents are only able to raise one young at a time which will leave the nest at the beginning of August. The adult birds reach sexual maturity at the age of 3 or 4.

     The short-toed eagle has a very limited diet, it almost exclusively feeds on snakes and lizards and is immune to snake venom. It rarely hunts small mammals or birds. When it catches a snake it tears the head off and partially swallows it, so the remainder of the snake’s body hangs out of its mouth as it transports it. As it has such a specialised diet, the preservation of its hunting grounds, such as meadows and pastures, is crucial for its survival. The short-toed eagle is a protected species, which typically nests in the Vihorlat Mountains.

Martin Danilák