This year's star: the Booted Eagle
This year's star: the Booted Eagle
This year the Festival's headliner is the Booted Eagle, named after the feathers that cover its legs. This medium-sized bird of prey is seen mainly in flight and can be identified by its "landing lights": white spots on the sides of its neck, facing forwards, like the landing lights of an aeroplane.
A curious aspect of this species is that it comes in two forms: light and dark, depending on the colour of the breast and underside of the wings.
A migratory species, it visits Portugal mainly in spring and summer, although some individuals overwinter in the country. During migration, Booted Eagles often appear near the coast, and one of the best places to spot them is in the Sagres region, where, when the wind blows from the east, they gather by the dozens.