Eastern imperial eagle
| Eastern Imperial Eagle | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom Information | |
| Domain | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Subkingdom | Bilateria |
| Branch | Deuterostomia |
| Phylum Information | |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Sub-phylum | Vertebrata |
| Infraphylum | Gnathostomata |
| Class Information | |
| Superclass | Tetrapoda |
| Class | Aves |
| Sub-class | Neornithes |
| Infra-class | Neoaves |
| Order Information | |
| Superorder | Passerimorphae |
| Order | Accipitriformes |
| Infraorder | Falconides |
| Family Information | |
| Family | Accipitridae |
| Sub-family | Buteoninae |
| Genus Information | |
| Genus | Aquila |
| Species Information | |
| Species | A. heliaca |
| Population statistics | |
| Population | 3,500-15,000 (Oct 2016)[1] |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable [2] |
The eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) is a bird of prey within the family Accipitridae, and found throughout much of Europe and Asia.
Description
Overall, the eastern imperial eagle is large for an eagle, yet fairly average-sized within its genus of Aquila. It measures 26.7 to 34.2 inches in length with a wingspan of 6.7 feet and a weight of 8.8 pounds. Females are 10% larger than males. It has a mainly black-brown plumage, with a distinctive creamy yellow nape and white shoulders. Its head and neck are quite broad and its grayish beak is imposing. As with other members in Aquila, its feet are feathered to the toes. Juvenile birds are lighter in color, with primary, secondary, and upper covert feathers tipped in white; adult plumage is worn beginning in its fifth year. The eastern imperial eagle is also a soaring bird, the large wings taking advantage of thermal currents of rising warm air, soaring for hours and miles.
The call is sometimes "bark-like", similar to a dog, while at other times it's a lighter, yet shrill whistle similar to other eagles.[3]
This bird is probably - but still uncertain - to be the eagle mentioned in Isaiah 40:31:
- "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Diet
The eastern imperial eagle has a wide variety of prey, including marmots and hares. Prey items also include other birds such as pheasants and partridges, chickens, certain corvids and pigeons.
Range
The eastern imperial eagle has a breeding range within a large portion of central Asia, from Ukraine to Far eastern China, and north of the Caucasus mountains and Gobi desert into southern Russia; additional breeding ranges are known in much of the mountainous areas of eastern Europe. Outside of the breeding season it will migrate to coastal areas of China and southeast Asia, Pakistan and India south of the Himalaya mountains, the Middle East, and into the Nile valley of Egypt and Sudan.
Breeding
The pair is monogamous, mating for life, and return to their usual nest each year, which is lplaced in the branches of a tall tree and visible from a great distance. They use the thickest branches of the tree as a base, maintaining it with new branches, grass, and feathers from their own bodies. The clutch normally consists of two eggs, although very rarely there may be three or even four eggs in the nest. The incubation period lasts 43 days, and after hatching it is only the oldest and strongest to survive which eventually leave the nest. The chick takes its first flight shortly after reaching two months of age and migrates alone in winter, seeking a mate the following summer. Lifespan in the wild is about 21 years.
Threats
Despite the Biblical reference, the eastern imperial eagle, like many birds of prey, was blamed for livestock losses and hence suffered persecution from man starting in the 17th century[4]. It thus experienced a sharp decline, exacerbated by the destruction of nesting trees, the disappearance of its prey, and either deliberate poisoning intended for the eagle itself, or involuntary poisoning via traps intended for mammalian predators (wolves, foxes, etc).
Numerous conservation efforts have helped revive the species. It was notably classified as vulnerable by the IUCN in 1994[5]. While it was estimated that between 363 and 604 pairs remained in Europe in 1996[6], this number had risen to between 1,800 and 2,200 in 2010[7].
References
- ↑ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22696048/155464885#population
- ↑ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22696048/155464885
- ↑ https://xeno-canto.org/species/aquila-heliaca
- ↑ Maarten Bijleveld, "The systematic persecution: A review of historical and more recent examples of the destruction of birds of prey in Europe"; from Birds of Prey in Europe, Macmillan Education UK, 1974 (pages 1-43) https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-02393-6_1
- ↑ https://app.birda.org/species-guide/8320/Eastern_Imperial_Eagle
- ↑ Heredia, B. (1996). International action plan for the Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca). Globally Threatened Birds of Europe: Action Plans. Council of Europe Publishing[1]
- ↑ Demerdzhiev, D., Horváth, M., Kovács, A., Stoychev, S., & Karyakin, I. (2011). Status and population trend of the eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) in Europe in the period 2000–2010. Acta zoologica Bulgarica Supplementum (pages 3, 5-14)[2]