Burial ground is a kind of birds. Imperial bird: description, habitat, food. The burial ground (eagle) is a large bird of prey. Lifestyle, nutrition

Only nests All year round Migration routes

Ufa ornithologist Viktor Valuev, based on many years of observations, believes that the eagle was called the burial ground because it buries dead relatives.

Description

Appearance

A large bird of prey with long broad wings and a rather long, straight tail. Length 72-84 cm, wingspan 180-215 cm, weight 2.4-4.5 kg. Most often, the imperial eagle is compared to the golden eagle, since both birds are closely related and similar to each other, and their ranges overlap. The burial ground is slightly smaller, has a shorter and narrower tail (the golden eagle has a wedge-shaped tail, fan-shaped), and a dark brown, almost black color of the plumage of most of the body - generally darker than that of the golden eagle. However, if the latter has rusty-yellow elongated feathers on the neck, then the burial ground has noticeably lighter - straw. In addition, white spots can often be developed on the shoulders - “epaulettes”.

In adult birds of both sexes, the primaries are black above, dark brown below, with a blurred gray striped pattern on the bases of the inner webs. The secondary ones are dark brown above, grayish-brown to black-brown below, also with indistinct striping. The underwing coverts look much darker, brown-black against the background of the flight feathers. The tail has a marble pattern that combines black and gray tones. The burial grounds acquire the final adult attire only by the age of 6-7 years. One-year-old birds are very light - mostly light buffy with dark longitudinal strokes and dark brown flight feathers. In subsequent years, the plumage darkens more and more, until the buffy tones disappear completely. Spanish imperial eagle, depending on the classification, species or subspecies, differs in more red and without strokes plumage in young and semi-adult birds, and a white border along the front edge of the wing in adults.

Spreading

breeding range

Rare, rare bird. It breeds in the desert, steppe, forest-steppe and along the southern edge of the forest zone of Eurasia from Austria, Slovakia and Serbia east to the Barguzin valley, the middle part of the Vitim plateau and the valley of the lower Onon. The total population of Europe has no more than 950 pairs, and more than half of them, from 430 to 680 pairs (2001 data) nest in southwestern Russia. More than ten pairs have been recorded in Bulgaria, Hungary, Georgia, Macedonia, Slovakia and Ukraine, and only a few nest in a number of Central and Eastern European countries. In Asia outside of Russia, it breeds in Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, Iran, possibly Afghanistan, northwestern India and northern Mongolia.

In European Russia, it breeds south of the valleys of the Voronezh (Lipetsk Oblast), Tsna (Tambov Oblast), Pyana (Nizhny Novgorod Oblast), the lower reaches of the Sura (Chuvashia), the Kazan region, the southern tip of the Perm Oblast, and the south of the Sverdlovsk Oblast. To the east, the northern border of the range runs through northern Kazakhstan, again returning to Russia in the south of Central Siberia, where it inhabits the steppe and forest-steppe regions of the Krasnoyarsk Territory east to the northern spurs of the Sayans south of the regions of Achinsk and Krasnoyarsk. The most eastern, isolated nesting sites were noted in the Baikal region (Ust-Orda Buryat district and adjacent territories of the Irkutsk region and Buryatia) and Transbaikalia (Dauria).

Migrations

Migratory or partially migratory species depending on the habitat. Adult birds from Central Europe, the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, and the Caucasus are sedentary while juveniles migrate south. In more eastern populations, some birds also remain within the nesting range, but are concentrated in its southern part. The rest move much further south to Turkey, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, Laos and Vietnam. In Africa, individual individuals reach Kenya. Young birds are the first to leave nesting sites in August and, as a rule, winter in lower latitudes. The bulk flies south from mid-September to late October and returns in the first half of April.

Habitat

Initially a bird of exclusively flat landscapes, in many areas, as a result of persecution and land cultivation, it was forced into the mountains - places more typical of the larger golden eagle. The main nesting habitats are steppes, forest-steppes, semi-deserts, but not completely open, like the steppe eagle, but with separate tall trees or forest islands. In Central and Eastern Europe, it breeds in mountain forests near open spaces up to 1000 m above sea level, as well as in steppe and agricultural areas with the presence of tall trees or power pylons. In the basins of the Dnieper and Don inhabits forest edges, old clearings, burnt areas. In Ciscaucasia and the Volga region, it settles in steppe and semi-desert landscapes, as well as in forests, where it prefers places with low relief - river valleys, beams, hollows. More eastern populations choose traditional forest-steppe, steppe and semi-desert landscapes with woody vegetation, sometimes used in agriculture. During wintering, it chooses similar biotopes, but more associated with water bodies.

reproduction

Burial eagles acquire the final adult feather outfit only at the fifth or sixth year of life, at the same time, in most cases, they start breeding. These eagles always, even on wintering grounds, keep in pairs, which persist throughout their lives. Mating mating of males begins in the south of Europe in March, in the territory of the former USSR in late March - April. During this period, the birds behave very noisily, flying around the territory in a soaring flight and making loud cries. Often, males, and sometimes females, make undulating, so-called "garland" turns, when soaring is suddenly replaced by an almost sheer dive with half-folded wings and then the same vertical take-off to the same height. The alternation of falls and rises can be repeated many times, creating the feeling of riding a rollercoaster, while males make loud guttural calls. Occasionally, females accompany males in this "performance", but they do it silently and less energetically.

Clutch once a year, consists of 1-3 (most often 2) eggs laid at intervals of 2-3 days. Depending on the habitat, this occurs from late March to late April or even early May. The egg shell is matte, coarse-grained; on a whitish background, several gray, purple or dark brown specks are visible. Egg sizes (63-83) x (53-63) mm. In case of loss of the original clutch, the female can lay it again, but already on a new nest. Incubation begins with the first egg and lasts about 43 days. Both members of the pair incubate, although the female spends most of the time in the nest. The chicks, covered in white down, emerge asynchronously in the same order that the eggs were laid. The female spends the first week in the nest, keeping the brood warm, while the male hunts and brings prey. Sometimes the younger chick dies, unable to compete with an older and larger brother or sister, but not as often as in a golden eagle or a greater spotted eagle. At about the age of two weeks, the first signs of plumage begin to appear in the chicks, after 35-40 days only the head and neck remain unfeathered, and after 65-77 days the chicks take to the wing. After leaving the nest, the chicks return to it for some time, after which they finally disperse and fly off for the first wintering.

Nutrition

It hunts mainly small and medium-sized mammals - ground squirrels, field mice, hamsters, water voles, young hares and marmots, as well as grouse and corvids. Carrion plays a significant role in the diet - especially in early spring, when rodents are still in hibernation, and birds have not returned from wintering. During this period, eagles specially fly around the places where animals that have fallen during the winter can be. The carcass of a sheep, ungulate, or even a dog can provide birds with food for several days. On rare occasions, it eats frogs and turtles.

Prey, as a rule, is enough from the surface of the earth, and in the case of birds, sometimes on takeoff. In search of food, it soars high in the sky for a long time or guards, sitting on a dais.

Status and limiting factors

In the International Red Book, the burial ground has the status of a vulnerable species (category VU) with a possible continuing decline in numbers. The main causes of degradation are the loss of places suitable for nesting due to human activities, mass extermination, death on power lines, and destruction of nests. In addition, the main food supply for eagles - ground squirrels and marmots - disappeared in a number of regions, which also affected the decrease in the number of these birds. The eagle is protected by the Red Books of Russia (category 2), Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. It is included in Appendix 1 of CITES, Appendix 2 of the Bonn Convention, Appendix 2 of the Berne Convention, as well as annexes of bilateral agreements concluded by Russia with India and the DPRK on the protection of migratory birds. Since 1990, a nursery for breeding this eagle has been established in the Galichya Gora Reserve.

Notes

1. Boehme R. L., Flint V. E. Five-language dictionary of animal names. Birds. Latin, Russian, English, German, French / Ed. ed. acad. V. E. Sokolova. - M.: Rus. lang., "RUSSO", 1994. - S. 40. - 2030 copies. - ISBN 5-200-00643-0.
2. Koblik E.A., Redkin Ya.A., Arkhipov V.Yu.,. List of birds of the Russian Federation. - M.: Association of scientific publications of KMK, 2006. - S. 101. - 256 p. - ISBN 5-87317-263-3.
3. Aquila heliaca Savigny, 1809 - Burial ground (indefinite) . Vertebrates of Russia. . Retrieved December 22, 2009. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012.
4. V. V. Ryabtsev. Eagles of Baikal. - Irkutsk: AEM "Taltsy", 2000.
5. Syutkina Evgenia. Ufa scientist uncovers the secret of burial eagles (indefinite) . Public Electronewspaper.rf. The public online newspaper of the Republic of Bashkortostan was established by OJSC IA Bashinform. (05/29/2017 14:30:50). Retrieved 11 August 2017.
6. V. K. Ryabitsev. Birds of the Urals, the Urals and Western Siberia: A guide-determinant. - Yekaterinburg: Publishing House of the Ural University, 2001. - S. 125-126.

How nice it is to be a sunny or imperial eagle, but having chosen a place on boulders near adobe mausoleums, the bird of prey doomed itself to the unsound name of the imperial eagle.

Such a different but always important imperial eagle

The burial ground is a rather large and noisy bird, from the hawk family, distinguished by a loud guttural voice.

Listen to the voice of the Imperial Eagle

She is especially talkative during the mating season, expressing admiration for her partner with her intonations, for example, males lure females on a date with their trademark “kra-krav”, which is impossible not to hear, even from a very long distance.

A strong body, clawed paws of a dark blue color, a powerful beak give out in it a relationship with a golden eagle. And plumage is the main sign of age. Young birds are brownish in color, with white patches, but the older the burial ground, the darker its plumage; in individuals of sexually mature age, white spots on the shoulders are a distinctive feature, resembling peculiar shoulder straps from a distance. The final color of the plumage is acquired by the 5-6th year of life, it is during this period that the burial ground begins puberty, and it is ready for mating and reproduction.

The weight of an adult Imperial Eagle varies from 2.5 to 4.5 kilograms, in especially large specimens up to 85 cm in length, the wingspan can reach up to 215 cm. The Imperial Eagle is a rather rare bird, and relatively few in number. Prefers to nest in desert, forest, steppe zones. It inhabits almost the entire European part, it also lives in Asia, Hungary, Georgia and even Macedonia. It occurs almost throughout the Don and Dnieper basins.

Families First

The burial ground is a family, paired bird. Having found his half in one of the marriage periods, he remains faithful for many years. In pairs, they arrange nests, in pairs they raise chicks, and also fly away together during the migration period. Even the chicks are hatched in pairs for 40 days. They make round spacious nests in the crown of trees, at a height of up to 15 meters. Egg laying occurs once a year, until early May. The female does not carry more than three eggs, and only if the clutch is lost, the couple can bring new offspring, but only after they arrange a new nest.

The female burial ground is a good mother, she spends the entire first week with the hatched chicks, warming and protecting the offspring, all this time the care of food falls on the father. If three chicks hatched in the nest, the probability of death of one of them is high, since the youngest is not always able to compete for food with stronger chicks. But such cases are still rare.

The childhood of the Imperial Eagle is very fleeting, already at the age of 70 days, they take to the wings and leave the nest, setting off for their adult life.

Dread Gravedigger's Menu

Despite its not tempting name, the diet of the burial ground is ground squirrels, field hamsters. And only at the beginning of early spring or at the end of autumn, when small rodents hibernate and hide in burrows, these birds can eat carrion.

Young birds of this species migrate south, but older couples lead a sedentary lifestyle. Occasionally, the imperial eagle can build its nests on the ground, yet giving preference to all sorts of hills. The favorite locality of the settlement is deciduous trees with a dense crown. Families of the burial ground live in the dense crowns of trees, and offspring grow there. They return there after hunting for the night.

He has weak paws and claws. This is a migratory bird. The burial ground inhabits forest-steppes, steppes, and sometimes settles even in semi-deserts.

Detachment - Predator birds

Family - hawksbill

Genus/Species - Aquila heliaca

Basic data:

DIMENSIONS

Length: 80-85 cm, the female is slightly larger than the male.

Wingspan: 190-210 cm.

Weight: 2.5-4 kg.

BREEDING

Puberty: from 4-5 years old.

Nesting period: March-May.

Carrying: for 1 year.

Number of eggs: 2-3.

Incubation: 43 days.

Feeding chicks: 65-77 days.

LIFESTYLE

Habits: Imperial Eagles (pictured) are monogamous birds, keep in pairs, hunt during the day.

Food: small mammals and birds, carrion.

Lifespan: 15-20 years.

RELATED SPECIES

The genus includes the golden eagle, the greater spotted eagle and the steppe eagle.

The Imperial Eagle is under protection in all parts of its range, but despite this, the population continues to decline. The smallest number of birds is found in Europe. People are less and less able to watch the mating dance of this majestic and beautiful eagle.

BREEDING

Imperial Eagles are monogamous birds that spend their entire lives with one partner. Every year they return to the same nest. Arriving from warm countries, burial grounds perform mating dances - birds soar above the nest, and then rush down like a stone, sometimes clutching each other with their paws and somersaulting in the air. A pair of Imperial Eagles jointly build a nest from branches on a tall single tree. The female lays 2-3 eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs alternately. The chick that hatched first is superior in size and strength to others. The firstborn eats most of the food, and sometimes even kills his younger brothers. However, imperial eagles often manage to raise two chicks. Late maturation and low fertility of the species is the main reason why the number of bird populations in many places remains critically low. In addition, the number of eagles is negatively affected by the use of artificial fertilizers in agriculture.

FLIGHTS

With the onset of winter, most imperial eagles fly from Europe to Asia or North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East to Iran.

Having risen to a sufficiently high height, it smoothly descends to the next air current, which again lifts the bird up. Imperial eagles do not risk flying over large bodies of water, since there are no warm air currents in these places and the birds have to expend a lot of effort.

WHERE Dwells

The Imperial Eagle inhabits steppes, forest-steppes, semi-deserts, open plains and in some places even deserts. This bird is also found in the lower belt of mountains. Most often, the imperial eagle settles in a damp, grassy area with sparse trees and patches of woody vegetation. Pairs nest at a great distance from each other, their territories are separated by a neutral zone. The hunting grounds of the cemetery cover an area of ​​about 50 km 2 .

In the 1920s, imperial eagles inhabited the Danube Delta in Romania in large numbers, where there was one eagle's nest for every 3 kilometers of the river. Many birds travel daily in search of food far enough from the nest, so the territory of such pairs can be very large.

Over the past fifty years, the populations of animals hunted by these birds of prey have significantly decreased in Europe. The intensive development of agriculture has turned the steppes into huge fields, where small rodents do not breed so actively.

In the steppes of Central Asia, another problem was added to this problem - the lack of trees suitable for nesting, which could withstand the eagle's dwelling. Today, the imperial eagle is becoming less and less common.

WHAT DOES IT FEED

Like other eagles, the imperial eagle feeds mainly on live prey, but does not disdain carrion, which at a certain period can become its main food - this happens in severe winters, when it is difficult to find live prey.

The Imperial Eagle looks out for the victim, sitting on a high tree, and, having noticed it, rushes at it from above. After a short pursuit, the eagle usually overtakes the victim and bites into it with its strong and sharp claws, like blades. In most of the range, the basis of the Imperial Eagle's diet is made up of hares, hamsters, ground squirrels, and other small rodents. This bird of prey is capable of catching large prey weighing up to 5 kg. It also preys on birds such as young ducks, geese, crows and even flamingos.

The Spanish subspecies, found in the mountains of Central and Southern Spain, feeds mainly on rabbits. Imperial Eagles not only live, but often hunt in pairs: one bird scares the game and drives it towards the other, which stands ready. After the couple manages to catch the prey, they eat it together.

• Pairs of Imperial Eagles annually repair their nests by adding new branches to them. The mass of the nest is constantly growing, and the branch on which it is attached does not always withstand this load, so it can break.
• In some European countries, despite official bans, people still fight foxes with strychnine baits, which kill many species of animals, including imperial eagles.
• Several generations of imperial eagles can use one nest for several decades and even centuries.
• Despite its rather large size, the Eastern Imperial Eagle also preys on small animals, such as frogs, lizards and insects.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE BURIAL EAGLE. DESCRIPTION

Flight: usually the imperial eagle slowly soars in the sky, catches up with its prey, falling from above with folded wings.

Eggs: the female lays 2-3 white eggs with brown spots, which are incubated by both birds for 6 weeks.

Beak: strong, hooked - bent down, serves to tear the prey.

Plumage: brown, almost black, there are white spots on 1 head, tail, neck and wings. Birds of both sexes are externally identical. Young birds have light brown plumage. It darkens up to 5 years.

- Habitat of the Imperial Eagle

WHERE Dwells

The Imperial Eagle lives in Southern Europe, Northwest Africa and Asia. The Spanish subspecies is distributed in a limited area in the mountains of Central and Southern Spain.

PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION

The Imperial Eagle is listed in the Red Book, the state of its populations makes a depressing impression.

Eagle burial ground (1). Video (00:01:16)

Eagle Eagle was found in the grass with a wounded wing, in a weakened state in October 2010.
He took him to a veterinary clinic, as the wing muscles were eaten away by worms, the doctors of the veterinary clinic amputated the wing. The wing hangs on the wall of the house). Currently in full health, eats only meat. The only thing he can't fly is, of course, a big tragedy for him.
Has been living with us for three years.
The eagle's gender and age are not known...

Features and habitat of the Imperial Eagle bird

It's just amazing why this proud, beautiful woman wears such an unpleasant prefix "burial ground". Previously, it was believed that this one feeds exclusively on carrion, which is why they began to call it that.

Moreover, due to the fact that the bird often prefers to inspect the surroundings on the mounds, they even came up with a clarification “ burial mound". However, it has long been found out that the main diet of the eagle is fresh game. But, since he cannot protest his name, no one began to rename it like that.

Eagle burial ground- a large predator among birds. Its body length is 83-85 cm, its wingspan reaches 2 m, and the eagle weighs about 4.5 kg. Interestingly, females are much larger than males.

The burial ground is very similar in color to its plumage, only much darker. And he is smaller than a golden eagle in size. These two birds can also be distinguished by the feathers on the head and neck; they are almost straw-coloured in the burial ground, and darker in the golden eagle.

Well, golden eagles don't have "epaulets" - white spots on their shoulders. But these differences can be seen only in adult birds that are older than 5 years, until this time, young people do not have a “final” color.

This one is quite noisy. Each event, even a very insignificant one, is accompanied by "comments". Whether it is the approach of an opponent, the appearance of some animal or person, for everything bird eagle responds with loud, croaking sounds.

And very rarely the screamer falls silent while searching for and attracting a girlfriend. Voice burial ground loud, it can be heard at a distance of a kilometer. The calls are varied, sometimes like a crow's croak, sometimes like a dog's bark, and sometimes you get a long, low whistle. The rest of the eagles are not so "talkative".

Prefers steppe, forest-steppe and desert areas, has chosen the southern forests of Eurasia, Austria and Serbia. Feels very comfortable in Russia, in the southwest, can be found in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and India.

Despite such a wide distribution, the number of this eagle is very small. Scientists ornithologists know the exact number of pairs where they are. It is clear that with such a number burial ground listed in Red Book.

The nature and lifestyle of the burial ground

The main activity falls on the day. As soon as the sun rises, and the rays awaken nature from the night's sleep, the eagle already soars above the earth. He is looking for prey. It is in the morning and afternoon that his vision allows him to see even a tiny one at a great height. And at night the bird prefers to rest.

Eagles do not stay in flocks, they can independently withstand any trouble in the form of enemies. And they have no obvious enemies, except for a person. Even despite the ban on catching this bird, a person catches burial grounds for sale.

The rarer it is, the more expensive it is. In addition, the growing cities leave less and less space for the bird to nest, and the lines along which electricity runs ruthlessly destroy these birds.

This bird is proud, it will not scandalize in vain. Even those who encroach on its territory, burial ground at first it warns with a cry, and only after the unscrupulous invader continues his work, ignoring the warning, the bird attacks. After such an attack, few survive.

However, this eagle does not fight with its neighbors and does not itself violate the boundaries of the territory. Yes, this is not difficult - there are very few birds of burial grounds, therefore their concentration in one place is very small, and the territories of possession of one have huge areas where there is enough food.

Eating the burial ground

The main menu of the bird is made up of rodents and small mammals. This includes and , and , and , and , and . The eagle does not shy away from birds. Especially prefers corvids. It is interesting that the burial ground suffices only when they take off, and the eagle does not touch the flying birds.

It happens that the bird has to eat carrion. This happens most often in the spring. At this time, not all rodents have woken up and run out of their burrows, so the burial grounds, which have just arrived from wintering and are preparing for the appearance of offspring, no longer have a choice.

One bird needs 600 g of food. In the best of times, an eagle can eat more than a kilogram, he will not die if he eats 200 g of food. But in the spring, strength is especially needed, so the carcasses of dead domestic animals and the corpses of animals that have not survived the winter are used.

Reproduction and life span of the burial ground

Marriage couples are permanent. Often, even in wintering, two birds stick together. Therefore, when they arrive from wintering, mating games are mainly arranged by young eagles who did not have time to create a “marital” tandem for themselves.

Eagles can start building their family and breeding offspring only when their age has passed beyond 5-6 years. And then, in March or April, males and females become very restless.

They soar in the sky and show everything they can - they perform unthinkable pirouettes, drawing attention to their person. All this skill is accompanied by loud, unceasing cries. This behavior is very difficult not to notice, so new pairs are created quite quickly.

Old couples fly to the places where they nested in previous years and immediately begin to improve their home, as a result of which the nest grows every year.

In the photo, the nest of the imperial eagle with a chick

The eagles, which did not have a joint nest before, begin construction by choosing a place. To do this, a tall tree is selected, and a new house is built at a distance of 15-25 m from the ground, in the very thick of the crown. Suitable for construction and rocks.

The nest is made from twigs, bark, dry grass and various debris that is suitable as a building material. In diameter, the newly built nest reaches 150 cm, and reaches a height of up to 70 cm.

It happens that in such a “monumental” structure, even more unscrupulous birds find shelter - or, which settle at the base of the eagle house. After construction, the female lays 1-3 eggs and incubates them for 43 days. The male eagle helps to incubate the offspring, but the female sits more often.

Chicks appear without feathers, however, covered with white down. All week the eagle does not leave her babies, she feeds them and warms them with her body. At this time, the head of the family takes care of the food of the mother and children.

It happens that if there are not 2 chicks, as usual, but 3, the weakest chick dies, but the mortality of Imperial Eagle chicks is much less than that of golden eagles, and, most often, the chicks grow safely to adulthood.

Already after 2 - 25 months, the chicks are completely covered with feathers and become on the wing. However, they still stick close to their parents. And they reach puberty even after 5-6 years.

The life expectancy of free eagles from eagles living in artificially created conditions is enormous. In the wild, it is 15-20 years, and in conditions created by man, it reaches 55 years.

Burial ground security

population birds burial ground frighteningly small. It has long been listed in the Red, however, this does not ensure complete safety of the species. Poaching, new construction, deforestation - all this destroys the species.

To save the eagle, reserves are created, birds are bred in zoos, conditions are created for them in specially protected areas. It is hoped that these eagles will not disappear, but will soar in the sky in complete safety.