Large flock of Short-toed eagles Circaetus gallicus in late autumn

Abstract

The Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus is almost exclusively a summer visitor to the Western Palearctic with exceptional winter reports from southern Europe. Southward movements from Europe begins from late August or early September to mid-October with stragglers lingering into November in central Europe and France. In Malta it is a scarce autumn migrant usually recorded from mid-September to mid-October, but occasionally in November and December.