Hieraaetus morphnoides
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The little eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides) is a very small eagle endemic to Australia. John Gould described the little eagle in 1841. The distinctive pygmy eagle has long been considered a subspecies, but a 2009 genetic study shows it to be distinctive genetically and warrants species status. It is a near relative of both the Palearctic booted eagle and the massive but now extinct Haast's eagle of New Zealand.
The little eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey, measuring 45–55 cm (17–21.5 inches) in length and weighing 815 g (1.8 lb), roughly the size of a peregrine falcon. It has fully feathered legs and a square-cut, barred tail. Wingspan is about 120 cm with males having longer wings in proportion to their bodies, but being nearly half the weight of females. It is a powerful bird and during flight has strong wing beats, glides on flat wings and soars on slightly raised or flat wings.
The little eagle occurs in light and dark colour forms and generally these colours change with age. The most common is the light form which is dark brown occurring on the back and wings with black streaks on the head and neck, and a sandy to pale under body. The dark form... Wikipedia →
Call0:26
Australia · 2021
© Iain Woxvold · XC621121 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:10
Australia · 2025
© Thomas Nataprawira · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:23
Australia · 2023
© Josh Magro · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Rottnest Island | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Little Eagle sighting in Cape Range on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 80th most-seen of the 84 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Little Eagle in Cape Range on a given day, against under 5% in March–May and July–January, the lowest months. That is one of Cape Range's wettest months, with about 55 mm of rain against almost none in October. February has too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Little Eagle sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Little Eagle sightings, Cape Range ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (Australia, about 10%), Flinders Ranges National Park (Australia, about 10%) and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Australia, under 5%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Little Eagle that you can see in Cape Range (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are White-Bellied Sea-Eagle (about 30%), Brahminy Kite (about 30%) and Wedge-tailed Eagle (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Little Eagle is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Range (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
