The cemetery is an eagle listed in the Red Book. Burial ground: description with photo

The burial ground is an eagle, the population of which is steadily shrinking, even despite the ban on hunting for this bird of prey. As a result of human agricultural activities, the main habitats of the cemetery disappear, and birds have to choose new and often not the best places for nesting near unprotected power lines.

In addition, despite official prohibitions, in some villages people still struggle with predators, using poisoned lures, from which a large number of animals die, including cemeteries.

origin of name

Based on the name of the eagle-burial mound, it can be concluded that he received his name as a result of eating mostly dead meat, but this is not so. At the beginning of the XIX century. In Russia it was simply called an eagle. But after the active study of the steppes of the Aral Sea and Kazakhstan began, where this bird was often seen sitting on the top of the mounds, which are known to be places of ancient burials, the name "burial ground" was added to the name.

Eagle-burial ground, whose name in direct translation from Latin means "sunny", and in many other languages - "imperial", in most of the territories formerly part of the USSR, still retains its gloomy image. The fact is that the word "cemetery" in most people is associated with burials, and not with a proud and beautiful bird. Despite the fact that recently there are increasing opinions that it would not be superfluous to give the eagle a different, more aesthetic name, no decisive action is being taken for this.

Eagle-burial: description

Unlike the golden eagle, whose tail is wedge-shaped and its feathers are fan-shaped, it is straight and elongated at the cemetery, although a general similarity between the birds can be seen. The body length can reach 85 cm with the weight of the individual up to 5 kg.

The burial ground is an eagle large enough. The wingspan is 215 cm, but this value still can not be compared with the wings of the golden eagle. The color of the feathers varies from dark brown to black. At the same time, in the area of the neck, the feathers are painted in a light straw color and slightly elongated. Some individuals on their shoulders may have white spots that look like epaulettes.

Vote

In comparison with his closest relative - the golden eagle, the eagle-burial ground, the photo of which is located below, a rather noisy bird. Most often his deep, raspy voice is heard at the beginning of the breeding season at a distance of a kilometer from the bird. The duration of the cry, remotely resembling a dog barking, is sometimes up to 10 syllables.

In the event that the cemetery finds on its territory an outsider in the immediate vicinity of the nest, he makes a warning cry, not paying attention to which, the individual who ventured to approach the nest, can seriously suffer.

Food

Most noteworthy is the variety of feed composition that this eagle prefers to eat. The bird burial ground can hunt small field rodents with the same excitement as on large animals. Of mammals, preference for food is given to hamsters and mice, and among the large animals, hares and young, fragile predators deserve undeniable preference. In addition, the burial ground uses for food any birds whose weight does not exceed 3-4 kg.

Nevertheless, burial grounds are preferred in the habitats of ground squirrels. As a rule, where these animals are absent, the eagles do not make nests. A very small number of eagle pairs, who have chosen as a permanent lake habitat located in Kazakhstan and Western Siberia, use local waterfowl for food , but even they mostly have gophers.

Rodents usually catch rodents on the surface of the earth, and birds - when they are just about to fly. On the day of the adult, at least 600 grams of meat are needed, and in the presence of chicks the daily volumes increase substantially, so the burial ground will never disgrace the corpse that can be found. The volumes of used carrion significantly increase in the spring, when there is practically no fresh food. At this time, the burial grounds specially fly around places where animals that died during the winter may be trapped, the carcasses of which will provide them with food for several days.

It is noteworthy that birds that are in the air do not interest the eagle . Tracking the future victim, he can fly for hours at sufficient altitude, so that the prey can not see him ahead of time, or watch, sitting on a hill in whose role the burial mounds perfectly perform.

Transformation into Adult Bird

The burial ground is an eagle, the floor of which can not be distinguished by the color of the tail. Flight feathers, regardless of gender, dark at the top and brown at the bottom. At the same time, a fuzzy striped gray pattern is observed on the bases of the internal blades. Winging wings repeat the color of the flight, however, their shade is much darker. The tail is gray-black with a marble tint. The claws and beak of the adult bird are black, which only emphasizes its beauty, standing out on a yellow background, characteristic for the cut of the mouth and paws of the burial ground.

The chicks are covered mainly with light-buffy plumage with longitudinal strokes. At the same time, the feathers of feathers have a rich dark brown color. In the following years they will gradually darken, until the ocher shade completely disappears from the color. To change the feathering the young bird will be several times, and only after it in color will fully correspond to the color of the adult bird, the cemetery is considered ready for independent life.

Nesting place

The bird moves freely on the ground, but this phenomenon is quite rare, and it can be seen only in the early morning, when the absence of ascending air currents prevents the burial ground from taking off. Often, the need for a landing is due to the fact that the nest is located in the immediate vicinity. In fact, the burial ground is an eagle, preferring for the nesting desert steppe and forest-steppe zones, which could have been used for several decades.

A couple who has chosen a place, simply improves the nest, so that the chicks feel comfortable. Sockets can be located on the ground, among the branches of a small growing shrub, and on trees. However, the nesting site at an altitude is associated with a certain risk, as birds constantly bring new fastening branches, and the tops of trees simply can not stand the increasing weight and can break.

Reproduction

In the event that a couple who is preparing to have offspring does not find a suitable nest, she builds her own, whose dimensions for the construction completion period are 130-160 cm in width and 70-90 cm in height. In subsequent years, the volume of the nest will increase significantly, and it will become an almost monumental construction.

Depending on the habitat, the egg laying period lasts from late March to early May. In one nest there are no more than 3 eggs, the laying of which occurs at intervals of several days. The size of eggs ranges from 53 mm to 83 mm, while, regardless of the nesting site, the shell is matte-white with gray or dark spots. It is noteworthy that if there is a loss of the original masonry, the pair withdraws and puts it again in a new nest.

The incubation process is performed by both members of the pair, beginning with the first egg, for 43 days. In this case, the appearance of the chicks occurs in the same order in which the eggs were laid. Feeding offspring engaged in the female, and the male falls the role of the main earner of subsistence for the family. Approximately at the age of 2-3 months, the chicks begin to leave the nest, but for a long time still return to it for the night before they fly to the first winter in their life.

What benefit does the eagle-eagle bring to a person?

Animal advocates call not to touch the nesting places of these birds of prey and report their detection to the appropriate animal protection agencies. The matter is that the burial ground is not only a rare, but also useful bird, which essentially reduces the number of small rodents and thus ensures the safety of crops. In addition, the eagle consumes carrion, which, as you know, can be the source of most serious diseases in humans.

The cemetery is listed in the Red Books of countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, in which all actions aimed at reducing the population of this species of predatory birds are severely punished.