Kurgannik - description, habitat, interesting facts

The content of the article

1 Distinctive features characterizing the kurgannik's nutrition
2 Bird habitats
3 Gender differences in birds
4 Nesting
5 Procreation
6 Video: kurgannik (Buteo rufinus)

The kurgannik is a bird of prey, the size of an adult individual reaches 65 centimeters, its wingspan is 160 centimeters wide, and its weight can reach up to 1800 grams. As a rule, the female exceeds in its size the male in length and outline of the wings. This bird is similar to an eagle, it has an elongated tail model and long legs.

The peculiarities of this bird include various dominant shades of plumage; for this reason, some representatives of the kurgannik are referred to the light varieties, and others to the dark ones.

The light kurgannik is distinguished by a reddish-ocher tinge of plumage, its head is lighter in tone than the back or chest, and its abdomen and sides, on the contrary, are darker. The tail of the bird has a light plumage of reddish color, there are no transverse stripes on it.In the lower part of its wings a large white spot is clearly distinguished, which is made up of a string of flight feathers.

You can also find these birds, whose colors are dominated by dark colors - the black-brown shade plays a decisive role in the coloring of their feathers. In the lower part of the wings of such kurgans, feathers of a light color are located; a dark border, located along the edge of the wing, gives them contrast. Light feathers also make up the tail of this bird, plus it is decorated with dark stripes located across. On the fly, a dark mound can easily be confused with a zemnyak or even with a buzzard, but it is given by the characteristic outlines of the body and the absence of spots on the chest of the lunar configuration.

Young individuals are easily distinguished from adults by a lighter plumage, there is no red tinge in their coloring, the abdomen has a bright plumage, the tail is decorated with small stripes, there are no characteristic spots and borders on the wings. In the upper part of the wings, young individuals have light spots resembling the coloring of young winter buzzards.

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Distinctive features characterizing the kurgannik's nutrition

Most of the kurgans prefer to eat small mammals, field mice, well-fed hamsters, reckless gophers, various hedgehogs and even small hares become common victims. In addition, they can hunt various reptiles, ubiquitous amphibians, and even some insects, such as locusts.

In winter, when the number of prey decreases markedly, these birds do not disdain even carrion, filling up the missing amount in the diet. These birds prefer to hunt from the sky, overtaking their prey with the help of a sudden pike. In the event of a miss, they may continue their pursuit on the ground.

Bird habitats

The kurgannik is a bird that has been widely distributed, it can be found in North Africa, in the territory of Greece, in the desert regions of Turkey, in the steppes, and forest-steppe regions of Eurasia, starting from the Black Sea areas to the Caucasus, in the western part of Mongolia and in the deserts of the Arabian the peninsula.

Kurgans living in zones with moderate climate conditions make seasonal flights to more southern regions in winter, they prefer semi-desert regions located on the African continent,who are south of the Sahara. In addition, these birds are sent for wintering in the northern regions of India. On the way back, they go with the onset of spring, but not all representatives of this species need seasonal flights.

For their settlements, Kurganniki can select both mountain ranges and plain expanses of steppes, as well as semi-deserts. There are no exceptions even desert areas, if there is enough food for food. On the territory of the Balkans, these birds make their nests in forests, among the mountainous areas located at medium altitude. For comfortable living, representatives of this species need open areas for successful hunting and secluded corners where they can build their nests. You can meet these hunters at heights reaching 2,700 meters compared to sea level.

Most often, the choice of Kurgannik stops in open spaces of land, where he can easily get his prey. He arranges his nests on cliff ledges, steep ravines of ravines, although he can easily use power poles or various towers for this purpose. In case of need the bird can make a nest even on the ground.

The population of birds of this species is constantly in a changing position, on the territory of the Russian Federation, for example, there is a tendency to decrease in numbers, for this reason it is listed in the Red Book.

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Gender differences in birds

The female kurgannik, unlike the male, has larger sizes. The size of the male is approximately 20% smaller than that of the female. Only this characteristic serves as a distinctive feature of sexual dimorphism in these birds. After all, any differences, expressed in the color of their plumage, does not exist.

Nesting

The steppe hunter likes to make large enough nests, in cross section such a nest can reach 1 meter and the same size in height. For the construction of its nest, the kurgannik uses branches that are different in length and thickness. Birds continue to use their nest for several years, due to which it increases in size every year. They use dry straw, dried manure, shreds of wool and various rags as bedding.

Procreation

In early April, the female lays her eggs,her laying can consist of 2 to 5 eggs. The eggs are off-white, camouflaged with brown specks of various sizes. The incubation period for Kurgan eggs is 35 days, at the end of it, approximately in May or early June, chicks appear. They will be ready for independent life after 6 weeks.

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