 Like the eastern imperial, the adult has a broad distinctive white band on the shoulder and leading edge of the wing and a much paler tawny color on the nape and crown, unlike the golden-yellow color on a similar area in the golden eagle.The juvenile Spanish imperial eagle is very different from adults and other large raptors in this range, being overall a uniform pale straw-sandy colour, contrasting with broad black bands on both the upper and lower sides of the wings.Smaller than the relatively small race of golden eagle found in the Iberian peninsula, it is somewhat slighter and slenderer in appearance compared to the more powerful golden species, with a relatively longer neck, and generally much flatter wing profile in flight than the upturned dihedral typical of a golden eagle.