The Steppe Eagle is a medium sized member of the eagle family. They can have a wingspan of about 6 and a half feet. The Steppe Eagle breeds from Romania, through the south Russian and central Asian steppes to Mongolia.

They are migratory birds; the ones in the western parts of their distribution over winter in Africa and those in the eastern parts winter in India.

The Steppe Eagle’s diet is largely fresh carrion of all kinds; it will kill rodents and other small mammals up to the size of a rabbit, and small birds about the size of a partridge. It will also steal food from other raptors.

It used to be thought of as a subspecies of the non-migratory Tawny Eagle but DNA analysis has shown that they are not even closely related.