Great spotted eagle interesting facts. Great spotted eagle (aquila clanga)

The Lesser Spotted Eagle is a bird from the hawk family. It is found in Eurasia and Africa, within strictly limited habitats. What does a Lesser Spotted Eagle look like? You will find a photo and description of the bird later in the article.

Taxonomy

The Lesser Spotted Eagle was previously included in the same species as the Greater Spotted Eagle. Outwardly, they are very difficult to distinguish, although it has long been proven that these are different birds. They both belong to the genus of eagles and the family of hawks. The Greater Spotted Eagle is larger than its “relative”; they have different nesting sites, ecology and behavior. Differences between birds have even been found in the DNA code.

Their common ancestors presumably lived in the area of modern Afghanistan. About two million years ago they split into the western (lesser spotted eagle) and eastern branches (greater spotted eagle). Today their ranges intersect only in the north of Hindustan and Eastern Europe. Species related to the Lesser Spotted Eagle are also the Spanish Imperial Eagle and the Steppe Eagle.

Description of the Lesser Spotted Eagle

The spotted eagle is a medium-sized eagle. Its body reaches up to 60 centimeters in length, and its wingspan is up to 1.4-1.6 meters. Females are larger than males, but do not differ in color. Females weigh up to 3 kg, males - up to 2 kg. The bird's tail is short and rounded, its head is small. The beak is black at the end, yellow at the base, powerful and curved, like all members of the family.

The bird has uniform light brown plumage, sometimes even buffy. As a rule, it is lighter than the Greater Spotted Eagle. At the base of the tail there is a white line; in some birds it is absent. The outer feathers of the tail and wings are dark brown or black. Juveniles have golden and white patches of color and a light spot on the back of the head.

The flight of the Lesser Spotted Eagle is smooth, flapping its wings gives way to gliding. It often circles over open areas in search of food. Between trees and other natural obstacles the flight is very fast and swift.

Habitat

The Lesser Spotted Eagle bird is found in Asia Minor and South Asia, Central and Eastern Europe. Flies to Africa for the winter. There its range begins with Sudan and ends with Namibia, Botswana and the eastern part of South Africa.

In Russia, it inhabits the territory near Novgorod and St. Petersburg, partly the Moscow and Tula regions, as well as the Krasnodar region. In Ukraine, the bird is found in the western and northwestern regions. The spotted eagle lives in India, the Balkans, Turkey, Hungary, Romania and Macedonia.

It settles in damp mixed or deciduous forests near open areas and river valleys. It lives in forest-steppes next to poorly used agricultural land, as well as in places where forests alternate with meadows. In the Carpathians and the Balkans it can settle in the mountains at altitudes up to 1800, in some cases - up to 2200 meters.

In most territories, the bird has the status of “nearly endangered” or “rare species with a limited range.” The main reasons why the bird may soon become an extinct species is deforestation, due to which nesting sites are destroyed. In the Krasnodar Territory, the spotted eagle is already classified as a rare species. In Ukraine, it is protected in the Carpathian, Polessky and Shatsky parks.

What does a spotted eagle eat?

The Lesser Spotted Eagle is a predator. Its prey is mainly terrestrial. From time to time it hunts small birds, chicks or various insects. The spotted eagle's main diet consists of small rodents, lizards, frogs and snakes.

A large hare is too fast and strong prey, so the bird hunts fragile baby hares and cubs of other mammals that are suitable in size. He leads a diurnal lifestyle. It hunts from the air extremely rarely; it mainly looks for prey while sitting on tree branches or moving on the ground. A bird eats up to 500 grams of meat per day.

Nesting period

The spotted eagle arrives at the nesting sites towards the end of April, and their current lasts until the end of May. These are monogamous birds and they choose a mate only once. During the mating ritual, they circle together in the air, the males feed the females from their beaks. Sometimes one bird remains on the nest, uttering long-drawn and sonorous calls, while another one circles above it in flight at a distance of up to a kilometer.

Birds' nests are placed on large tree branches, making sure that this place can be easily approached. They reach from 50 to 100 cm in diameter. The material is thick twigs and branches; the inside is usually lined with leaves, dry grass and bark. Spotted eagles use one nest several times. For years and even decades they can fly to a once successfully arranged place.

During this period, they clearly define their territory and fiercely defend it. They keep out not only spotted eagles, but also other species. In the winter, on the contrary, they behave very peacefully and easily get along with other eagles.

There are only two eggs in a bird's clutch, and one of the cubs often becomes the victim of the second. For 45 days, the parents take turns incubating the clutch. The eggs are white with brown spots. The chicks are fed for about two months, after which they leave the “home”. They become sexually mature only at 3-4 years of age. In total, lesser spotted eagles live 15-20 years.

Aquila clanga Pallas, 1811
Bird Class - Aves
Order Falconiformes
Accipitridae family - Accipitridae
Category and status: IV - a poorly studied species.
Red Book of the Russian Federation: 2 - population with declining numbers.
IUCN Red List 96; CITES Appendix 2;
Annex 2 of the Bonn Convention; Appendix 2
Berne Convention; Annex to bilateral agreements concluded by Russia with India and the DPRK on the protection of migratory birds; SPEC-1.

Description of the adult stage and its differences from related species Large (but smaller than the steppe), very dark eagle, sometimes with a whitish spot on the upper tail. The plumage of the head and body is uniform, black and brown. It differs from the steppe eagle, imperial eagle and golden eagle in its uniform, very dark coloring and somewhat smaller size. In field conditions it is practically indistinguishable from the Lesser Spotted Eagle (slightly larger and darker).
Information about biology and ecology It nests mainly in tall, but not too dense, often swampy, forests located near water bodies: in river valleys, lake basins and among swamps. A necessary requirement is the presence of open feeding biotopes near the nesting site: floodplain meadows, swampy clearings, wastelands, swamps. A massive nest is located in a fork of the main trunk, often on deciduous trees. The voice is a ringing “kyak-kyak-kyak.” The clutch in May consists of 2 white eggs with intense red-brown spots. It feeds on a variety of vertebrates from hares to voles, the main diet being mouse-like rodents and amphibians. It tracks prey in flight or sitting on a branch.
Distribution and occurrence In European Russia it inhabits forest and forest-steppe zones. Outside Russia, the range extends to Finland, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia. It is a rare species for the Belgorod region. Currently, there is reliable data on the presence of one individual in the territory. The find dates back to 2003.
Limiting Factors Draining and plowing of floodplain meadows, cutting down nesting trees and draining swampy forest areas, increasing the disturbance factor (especially in the forest-steppe zone).
Necessary security measures Nests located in unprotected areas should be declared natural monuments with the establishment of a protective zone around the nest, with a complete ban on logging and reclamation work. It is advisable to build artificial nests and work on keeping one of the chicks in an aviary during the critical period of cannibalism, with subsequent return to the nest.
Security measures taken There are no measures taken for protection.
Information sources.

An eagle-like bird of prey, larger but smaller than the golden eagle, imperial eagle and steppe eagle. Most spotted eagles appear very dark, blackish, although very light, brownish-ochre individuals are occasionally found.

On a flying eagle you can see a light whitish rump, and on a soaring spotted eagle a light stripe separating the base of the flight feathers from the lower coverts. In young birds, light teardrop-shaped streaks are noticeable against a dark background; there are especially many of them on the wings and back. The number of streaks varies greatly among different individuals.

The average body length of a spotted eagle is 67.5-70 cm, wingspan is 166-174 cm, body weight is 1.7-2.7 kg. Like most large predators, it has become rare in many places, but can still occasionally be found even in the central regions of Russia.

The Greater Spotted Eagle looks for prey on the fly or watches for it, sitting on a hummock or simply on the ground. Sometimes he even wanders through open places and grabs available living creatures - these are mainly small animals, from voles to hares and young marmots and birds - from buntings and larks to ducks and black grouse. He does not miss frogs, toads and lizards, and on occasion he also eats fish. Catches large insects and does not disdain carrion.

It would seem that with this method of obtaining food, this predator should leave a lot of paw prints on the soil, but I have never been able to find its tracks near permanent perches. I often found the birds themselves resting on the roof of an empty shed, and, judging by the number of pellets and droppings, they had been using this perch for a long time. Apparently, I simply did not have enough time to find traces and remains of the victims (we only stayed in the research area for about two days).

The pellets found under the spotted eagle perch had an elongated oval shape. They are about 7x2.5 cm in size, which markedly distinguishes them from the larger and wider pellets of steppe eagles. The pellets contained fur and feathers. Among the hairballs were the front part of a vole's skull, a lark's beak and bone fragments.

The Greater Spotted Eagle builds nests on tall trees, at a distance of 8-12 m from the ground, but in steppe regions they are built on low bushes. The diameter of the nest is 0.7-1.1 m. The tray is flattened, only about 5 cm deep, lined with bark and thin twigs. Usually the nest contains fresh branches with leaves. The clutch contains 1-2 white eggs with purple streaks. The average egg size is 6.82x5.42 cm.

Noticeably smaller than the Greater Spotted Eagle is the Lesser Spotted Eagle - length 62.5-64.3 cm, wingspan 145-159 cm, body weight 1.28-1.68 kg. It is painted in a uniform pale brown color. The soaring bird does not have a dark spot near the fold of the wing (characteristic of all buzzards).

This small eagle is common in Western Europe. To the east it reaches the Leningrad, Moscow and Smolensk regions. Preys on small animals - lizards, frogs, even vipers. This eagle's larger prey includes rats, squirrels, ground squirrels, hamsters, hares and birds as large as partridges. The tracks of this eagle are unknown to me. The size of its pellet is about 3.9-3.6 cm.

Aquila clanga Pallas, 1811

Spreading: Inhabits forest and forest-steppe zones to the north. to approximately 64°N. in European Russia and the Urals, up to 62° N. in the Ob valley, 63° N. in the Yenisei valley, 54° N. in the Baikal region, 53° N. in Transbaikalia, 52° N. in the Amur Valley and Primorye up to 49° N. South the range boundary runs approximately at 50° N latitude. in the bass Don, 53° N in the Volga valley, in the Asian part - along the state border of Russia. Outside Russia, the range extends to the west. to Finland, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, to the east. to North-East China.

Habitat: It nests mainly in tall, but not too dense, often swampy, forests located near water bodies: in river valleys, lake basins and among swamps. A necessary requirement is the presence of open feeding biotopes near the nesting site: floodplain meadows, swampy clearings, wastelands, swamps. Monogamous, sexual maturity occurs at 3-4 years of age. Nesting sites take many years. The massive nest is located in a fork of the main trunk, often on deciduous trees. There are 2 eggs in the clutch, but one of the chicks almost always dies from the cannibalism of the second, so only one young bird flies. It feeds on a variety of vertebrates from hares to voles, the main diet being mouse-like rodents and amphibians. Winters in the southeast. Transcaucasia, Iran, Mesopotamia, India, Burma, and also in Egypt.

Number: The status of populations and population trends vary in different regions. In the forest-steppe of the European part of Russia it was under threat of complete extinction. Apparently, it has completely stopped nesting in the Kaluga, Tula and Voronezh regions. . In the Lipetsk region. There are 5-7 pairs left at the nesting site. In a number of regions of the forest-steppe Cis-Urals, the number remains quite high. In the forest areas of the center, north-west. and zap. In the European part of Russia, the number, compared to the first half of the century, has not decreased so significantly; now there is no sharp decline in the number; in some places it is stable. In the Tver region. About 30 pairs nest, in Moskovskaya - at least 10-15. 7-9 pairs have been nesting in the Oksky Nature Reserve for many years. In the Kaliningrad region. 10-14 pairs, the number increased slightly in the second half of the century. In the Leningrad region. no more than 18-20 pairs live. In the Upper Volga region the species is very rare and is in danger of complete extinction; a catastrophic decline in numbers has occurred over the past 30 years. In the Volga-Kama region in the first half of the 70s. the number decreased by 2.9 times and in the middle of this decade amounted to 1 individual/200 km of route. In the Perm region. There has been a strong decline in numbers and currently no more than 20 pairs are nesting. In the Asian part of the range, the number is very uneven. The spotted eagle has become extremely rare in the Middle Urals. In the 60s it was numerous in the Baraba Lowland - 3-24 pairs/100 km2 and on the Zeya-Bureya Plain in the Amur Region. - 1.3-2.7 pairs/100 km2. There are no modern data on the status of these populations. Data from surveys in other regions indicate the small number of the species. In Tyva, on an area of 1514 km2, only 3 nests were found. In the Malaya Sosva Nature Reserve (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug), 1-3 pairs nested on an area of 922 km2. The species is not found at all in the region of the Bratsk Reservoir. and to the West. Altai. In general, the number of Greater Spotted Eagles in Russia does not exceed 3 thousand breeding pairs, of which 800-1000 live in the European part and, apparently, about 2 thousand in the Asian part. Among the anthropogenic factors, the nesting of the species is most negatively affected by the drainage and plowing of floodplain meadows, the cutting down of nesting trees and the drainage of swampy forest areas, and the increase in the disturbance factor (especially in the forest-steppe zone).

Security: Listed in the IUCN-96 Red List, Appendix 2 of CITES, Appendix 2 of the Bonn Convention, Appendix 2 of the Berne Convention, Annexes of bilateral agreements concluded by Russia with India and the DPRK on the protection of migratory birds. Individual nesting sites are protected in the Oksky, Mordovsky, Voronezh, Malaya Sosva, and Khingansky nature reserves; Meshchersky National Park, Zavidovo State Complex. The country's zoos contain only 2 individuals (Kaliningrad and Lipetsk), breeding has not been registered in recent years. Nests located in unprotected areas should be declared natural monuments with the establishment of a protective zone around the nest, with a complete ban on logging and reclamation work. It is advisable to build artificial nests and work on keeping one of the chicks in an aviary during the critical period of cannibalism, with subsequent return to the nest.

Today we will look at another representative from the accipitridae family, namely the greater spotted eagle. The bird leads a hidden lifestyle, and therefore it is not possible to study it thoroughly. However, there is information regarding distribution, nutrition, reproduction and general characteristics of the breed group. Otherwise, spotted eagles are called hermits, because they prefer to stay alone and also do not like to be near people.

Habitat and description

The birds of the family under discussion are medium-sized. However, some scientists classify them as individuals famous for their large size. Again, it all depends on who you compare to. So, the spotted eagle grows up to 75 cm in length, the body weight of an individual varies between 1.5-3 kg.
Sexual dimorphism is clearly visible, females are larger than males. There is also the Lesser Spotted Eagle, its larger brother is larger, as the name suggests. But if you meet birds in the field, they can easily be confused. Only an experienced eye can determine the category.
Individuals are uniformly colored in feather color. They are brown and dark. However, the area under the tail, the occipital part, and the sternum are light. Blackish or brownish feathers are visible on them. It is extremely rare to find birds that, against the background of a brown tint, are also yellowish or buffy.
The young animals have light plumage and have droplet-shaped spots in the upper section of the body. You can also find individuals whose main shade is sandy yellow or ocher. The color of the claws and beak is black, the nostril area and the paws themselves are yellowish. On the legs, feathers extend all the way to the hands.
In terms of distribution, these birds can be found in cooler parts of Europe, be it Poland or Finland. They also live in Mongolia, Hungary, Pakistan, and China. In the vast expanses of our homeland, spotted eagles have been spotted in the Kaliningrad region and all the way to Primorye.
For the winter, the birds are collected and transported to Indochina, India, and Iran. Since individuals are predators, they are found in meadow-steppes, swampy areas, near rivers, reservoirs and lakes. It is in this area that the spotted eagle looks for and drives prey.
Birds prefer to live on flat or high terrain. They often live in mountains whose height extends for 1 km. up. As for hunting, individuals prefer to look for food on the ground or wait for its arrival, observing from the air. The diet consists of rodents of various families, as well as small birds or reptiles.
Spotted eagles build nests for future offspring in tall trees. Moreover, after construction, this home will be used from year to year. Laying occurs in late spring; usually the expectant mother lays up to 3 eggs. But in most cases there are two.
After the female lays the first egg, she immediately begins incubation, rather than waiting for the second one to appear. Partly for this reason, chicks are born at intervals, but the last chick usually dies due to competition with the first.
When the generation grows up to 2 months, it can fly. These individuals grow and learn quickly, and soon they, together with their father and mother, go to a wintering place. The Greater Spotted Eagle is protected as an endangered and rare species.

Lifestyle

Representatives of the family are monogamous; they wait 4 years to reach sexual maturity. Some individuals mature earlier and can reproduce at 3 years of age.
They build a home for future offspring together. Then they arrive every year to lay and incubate eggs. Since reproduction is quite fast, soon the parents fly back with the chicks to warmer climes.
According to their natural characteristics, birds can be classified as cannibals. That is, when the female laid eggs and they hatched at a certain interval, then a fight begins between the chicks. The older one simply eats the younger one.
If the laying is carried out in May, then in the fall the family of birds with their replenishment can go to winter. Africa, Europe, and Asia are chosen as warm regions.

It is worth noting that the individuals in question have a fairly wide habitat. If you look from the other side, an interesting fact remains that the birds presented do not have subspecies.
Numerous studies have confirmed the fact that individuals of two closely related species may well interbreed with each other (lesser and greater spotted eagle). The result is completely viable hybrids.
Unfortunately, this species is declining worldwide. Therefore, the birds are listed in the Red Book. Such individuals are rapidly disappearing from their usual habitats. The Far Eastern and European populations are protected on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Such individuals are closely guarded. Due to widespread deforestation, the species' numbers are declining. The problem is that such birds nest in the crowns of tall trees. People constantly disturb the habitat of wild animals and birds.
Birds are monogamous and build their own nests. They can also occupy old empty nests. Such individuals camouflage their home very well. They cover it with spruce and aspen branches.
During the mating season in early spring, such individuals make very interesting sounds. Because of such calls, the birds in question can be heard at a distance of 3.5 km. In common parlance, this is why the individuals in question are called “Screaming Eagles.”

Spotted eagles are unique individuals of their kind. Unfortunately, they have no subspecies. Their population is declining sharply due to human activity. Eagles are listed in the Red Book. The number of birds is very small, even despite their extensive habitat.