Sea eagle
| Sea eagle | ||||||||||
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Sea eagle |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Haliaeetus leucoryphus | ||||||||||
| ( Pallas , 1771) |
The sea eagle ( Haliaeetus leucoryphus ) is a bird of prey from the hawk family (Accipitridae). It is common in waters in South and Central Asia. Due to habitat destruction, food decline and disturbances in the breeding areas, as well as the destruction of old wood stocks near the water and increasing pollution from environmental toxins, stocks are declining. The species is therefore classified as endangered (" vulnerable ") by the IUCN .
features
The sea eagle weighs around 2 to 3.7 kg and has a wingspan of 180 to 205 cm. As with many birds of prey, the female is larger than the male. The plumage is monochrome brown in most places, on the neck and on the head it is golden brown to sand colored. The tail, which is only slightly rounded, is white and ends with a wide black band. Feet and toes are plaster-colored white, the claws black. The young are uniformly brown, the bases of the arm and inner hand wings are white. The tail has no white parts.
Occurrence
The binding sea eagle is common in Central and South Asia from Kazakhstan , where it may already be extinct, Mongolia and northern China to Pakistan , northern India and Burma . Its habitat are rivers and lakes, which are often in dry areas. It also penetrates plateaus and reaches areas of up to 5200 meters in Tibet .
nutrition
The main food of the sea eagle is fish, which it catches on the surface of the water without diving deep. In addition, it consumes water birds, rodents, frogs, reptiles and carrion. Occasionally it chases prey from other birds such as the osprey .
Reproduction
In the southern regions of the distribution area, such as India, the eggs are laid in October to February, in the northern and high-lying areas up to three months later. The very large nest consists of branches and twigs and is usually located in a tall tree near the water. Occasionally, however, the species also breeds on the ground and, especially in the northern distribution areas, on rocky cliffs. Usually 2–3, less often 4 eggs are laid, which are incubated for around 40 days, primarily by the female. The young, of which mostly only a maximum of 2 survive, have grayish down plumage. The nestling period, during which the young are fed by both parents, is at least 70 days, in unfavorable climatic conditions it can last more than three months. About four weeks after leaving, the boys are independent.
Migratory behavior
The populations of the north, where the waters freeze over in winter, move south in the cold season, for example to Afghanistan , Iran and originally also Iraq . It is very likely that some of them will also reach the Indian subcontinent and Burma , where they can then be found together with the sea eagles resident there.
Hazard and protection
The binding sea eagle was originally much more common. Until the first half of the 20th century, the species was found as a breeding bird as far as the Caspian Sea , where the last brooded in 1947. At the beginning of the last century the species also brooded in the Crimea . In the former Soviet Union, where it was still widespread in Kazakhstan in the 20th century, it is also likely to have died out as a breeding bird. There is hardly any information available about the stock situation in Burma, Mongolia and China. In Pakistan, the total population was estimated to be less than 40 pairs in 1974, and populations are also falling sharply in Bangladesh. In India the species seems to be a little more common. The total population is estimated at 2500 to a maximum of 10,000 individuals.
supporting documents
literature
- Josep del Hoyo , Andrew Elliot, Jordi Sargatal : Handbook of the birds of the World. Vol. 2: New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 1994, ISBN 84-87334-15-6 .
- James Ferguson-Lees and David A. Christie: Raptors of the World. Houghton-Mifflin Company Boston and New York 2001; Pages 398-400; plate 18 (page 114) ISBN 0-618-12762-3
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Haliaeetus leucoryphus in the Internet Bird Collection
- BirdLife factsheet
- Haliaeetus leucoryphus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
Single receipts
- ↑ BirdLife Factsheet , accessed July 24, 2010