Eagle Buzzard
| Eagle Buzzard | ||||||||||||
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Eagle Buzzard ( Buteo rufinus ) |
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| Buteo rufinus | ||||||||||||
| ( Cretzschmar , 1827) |
The eagle buzzard ( Buteo rufinus ) is a bird of prey from the genus Buteo , the real buzzards . It occurs in western North Africa , on the Arabian Peninsula , in Turkey , on the Caucasus . In Asia its breeding area extends as far as North India and Mongolia . In the Balkans, its distribution area extends as far as Hungary , where it has been represented with two to seven breeding pairs for several years. In Austria he is regularly observed in the summer half-year.
features
With a length of 57 to 65 centimeters and a wingspan of 135 to 160 centimeters, the eagle buzzard is the largest buzzard in the western Palearctic . Males weigh around 1100 grams, females around 1300 grams. Its long wings and fingered hand wings make it look like an eagle.
The Latin species name rufinus means "reddish" or "rust-colored" and describes the color of the light and rust-red morph . Usually the head and chest are unmarked and light and contrast with the rust-red belly and trousers. Fledglings have a light-colored head, a white chest and a dirty-white, often incompletely banded tail. The pale hand wings are unbanded and dark at their tips. They form a clear contrast to the covers of the hand wings , which are also dark, and the brown arm wings and their rust-colored covers.
Color variations
The eagle buzzard occurs in three color morphs with many transitional forms. The light and reddish morphs have a light rust-colored head, neck and tail; the latter is unbanded in adult birds. The head of the young birds is usually very light, especially in the subspecies B. r. cirtensis . The dark morph has a dark brown head and body, the white tail is criss-crossed by dark transverse bands and has a broad, black-brown end band.
Possible confusion
The eagle buzzard is easily confused with the falcon buzzard ( Buteo buteo vulpinus ), which is smaller and has narrower wings. It can also be confused with the buzzard , which however never shows red tones in the plumage.
voice
The calls of the eagle buzzard sound similar to those of the common buzzard , but a little longer. The eagle buzzard calls less often than the common buzzard. The piercing begging call of the fledgling young birds sounds like "kluih".
Habitat and Distribution
Mountainous and open landscapes, and dry steppes and semi-deserts are used by Adlerbussard habitat. With good food availability it also occurs as a breeding bird in real deserts . However, it also breeds in the wooded low mountain range of the Balkan Peninsula .
Conditions for the habitat are open areas for foraging and suitable breeding places. In Turkey these can be up to 2,700 meters high.
The eagle buzzard is widespread in western North Africa , Greece , Turkey and in the center of the Arabian Peninsula , on the Caucasus and in Central Asia as far as North India . In North Africa the breeding area extends as far as the Algerian or northwest Mauritanian Sahara . As a seasonal breeding bird, it occurs in the arid regions of the southern Palearctic from Greece over the Caucasus to Mongolia.
Russian buzzards and those of the Balkans are migratory birds . Their wintering area is in North Africa, some of them migrate into the Sahel zone . However, overwintering has already been observed in Hungary and Greece. In Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa, buzzards are resident birds . The autumn train takes place in September and October, the spring train in March and April.
Subspecies
Besides the Eurasian nominate form B. r. rufinus there is the smaller subspecies B. r. cirtensis , which occurs in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The two subspecies inhabit different altitudes, but hybrids occur in areas where the areas overlap. The population of Socotra was raised to the separate species Buteo socotraensis in 2010 .
Reproduction
His Horst likes to build the Adlerbussard on elevated points from which he can observe the surroundings well. Cliffs are preferred in the Balkans , but trees are also preferred in Ukraine. In areas with few trees, such as the steppe areas of southern Russia and Kazakhstan, the nest is also built on the ground and often on electricity pylons.
The clutch consists of two to five, usually two or three eggs, which have a light basic color and brownish spots. They are laid in the first half of April. After a nestling period of 45 to 52 days, the young birds fledge at the end of June.
food
Small to medium-sized mammals make up the majority of the diet. Typical prey animals are voles , hamsters , ground squirrels or reptiles and amphibians , as well as insects , e.g. B. Locusts . It also feeds on carrion in the wintering areas.
His prey he catches from segelndem search flight or elevated residences , sometimes even on foot. In contrast to other buzzards , the eagle buzzard practically never shakes . However, it can "stand" in the air for a long time if the wind conditions are appropriate.
Duration
The European breeding area has shrunk significantly in the course of the 20th century, especially in the European part of Russia and Ukraine, due to habitat destruction. Since the 1970s there has hardly been any loss of area, but the populations in Russia are steadily declining. The decisive factor is above all the intensification of land use and the destruction of the few suitable nest sites in the open landscapes of Eastern Europe. To the east of the Volga and on the southwestern edge of the breeding area, the populations are increasing and the area is expanding. The first breeding records for Hungary were made in 1992. Eagle buzzards have been breeding there regularly since 1994.
The European population is estimated at 8,700 to 15,000 breeding pairs. The most important occurrences are found in Turkey, where about 6000 to 9000 pairs were breeding at the beginning of the 21st century, as well as in Azerbaijan and Russia.
literature
- Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel , Wolfgang Fiedler (Hrsg.): The compendium of birds of Central Europe. Everything about biology, endangerment and protection . 2nd, completely revised edition. tape 1 : Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds . Aula-Verlag, Wiebelsheim 2005, ISBN 3-89104-696-0 .
- Theodor Mebs , Daniel Schmidt: The birds of prey in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Biology, characteristics, stocks (= Kosmos nature guide ). Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-440-09585-1 .
Web links
- Buteo rufinus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on December 18 of 2008.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings on Buteo rufinus in the Internet Bird Collection
- Recordings from the great outdoors on Fokus-natur.de
- Photos at naturlichter.de
- Comparison photo between young eagle and common buzzard
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds of Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds , Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 , p. 349
- ↑ M. Dudás, G. Kovács, I. Sándor: The eagle buzzard Buteo rufinus as a breeding bird in the Hungarian Hortobágy-Puszta. In: Limicola. 7, 1993, pp. 141-146.
- ^ RF Porter & Guy M. Kirwan: Studies of Socotran birds VI. The taxonomic status of the Socotra Buzzard In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. Volume 130, No. 2 ( PDF Online ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. )
- ↑ IT Vatev: Notes on the Breeding Biology of the Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus in Bulgaria . In: Journal of Raptor Research . tape 21 , no. 1 , 1987, ISSN 0892-1016 , pp. 8-13 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
- ↑ a b A. O. Shetsov: Breeding of the Long-legged Buzzard in Olexandrija district of Kirovograd region. In: Berkut 10, No. I, 2001, pp. 63-66.
- ↑ a b Bauer et al .: The Compendium of Birds in Central Europe. Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. 2005, p. 349.
