Burial ground - description, habitat, interesting facts

Eagles are rightly considered the most majestic and powerful birds. If you follow the legends and beliefs, some nations associate eagles with deities. It has long been believed that during military battles the eagle that flew over the army promises victory and luck. Today we look at the representative of the family - the burial ground. If you follow the data, the bird is called just so due to the features of feeding on carrion. However, over time, this fact has been refuted many times.

Description

1. The bird belongs to the species of predators, it is large and respectable to itself. The burial ground is famous for its huge powerful wings and the same imposing tail. At one glance at the represented individual, it becomes clear that she can kill the fox before death.
2. By its dimensional features, namely the size of the body, the burial ground sometimes reaches 90 cm.If we take into account the fact that the wingspan is 2 m., The bird looks menacing. As for the weight category, the birds are downed and powerful, body weight varies in the zone of 2-5 kg.
3. According to the external characteristics of individuals of this breed group is compared with eagles. They belong to the same family and are similar in type, both predators. It is interesting that the cemetery is listed in the Red Book as a protected species.
4. In the expanded state, the wings are huge, the tail is slightly smaller. It is usually painted in a dark or black shade. Some individuals may have spots on the plumage, in harmony with the general coloring.
5. Also on the body often look whitish large spots. In the matter of studying individuals of this breed group, it is worth remembering that birds can change their color several times up to 6 years of their life. Also the young are lighter than adults.
6. Some wonder what voice this type has. You can hear it in the mating season, the male becomes grumbling and often screams. As a rule, sounds are rough and loud. If the birds live nearby, then you can hear them within a radius of one kilometer. Exclamations are similar to the barking of dogs, alternately repeating "kav kav" or "krav krav".

Lifestyle

1. In burial grounds, the breeding season and the further continuation of the genus begin in early spring, approximately in March. Males are fully armed, hovering in the sky, proudly spreading their wings. They fly for a long time to attract the attention of females. Relationships develop forever when two individuals choose each other.
2. In the future, individuals of male and female sex everywhere will live together, not parting in the sky and on the ground during the wintering period. When a place to build a dwelling is chosen, the couple is closely engaged in preparatory activities. It is necessary to build a high-quality nest so that it can fly into it for several more years.
3. As a rule, members of the family prefer high old trees away from the rest of their eyes. The dwelling is located at a height of 15-25 m. So that no one can get close to the eggs and chicks. Birds use branches and branches of large caliber, and fill the inner section with manure, needles, moss, etc. Samochka and the male together build a nest, but the female individual directs and is responsible for everything.
4. As for laying, the female gives 1-3 eggs, laying them alternately at intervals of a couple of days.For the same reason, chicks appear gradually, one after another. Hatching lasts about 40 days, sometimes longer. When the babies are born, the newly appeared mother will not leave them, warming and feeding.
5. While the mother of the family is busy warming the chicks, the father goes hunting and brings prey to the family. In some cases, the most recent baby bird dies due to constant competition with older offspring. But these cases are rare. On the wing the younger generation becomes after 80 days.

Nutrition

1. If we compare burial grounds with other representatives of the subspecies of eagles, then these individuals are not distinguished by their special mobility. It is for this reason that the burial grounds do not try to keep up with quick prey, choosing food more affordable. The main menu of these birds consists mainly of rodents, gophers, jerboas, woodchucks, hares or small birds.
2. At the same time, it is difficult to catch birds on the fly, it is waiting for the prey to land. As for their dimensional features, these individuals need up to 0.2 kg. feed, you need to eat regularly. The burial ground of birds chooses what to eat.Typically, quail, partridge, wood grouse, etc., serves as a meal.
3. But it’s not for nothing that these individuals were called graves, they feed on carrion. Moreover, this food forms the basis of the basic diet. In the springtime, they have nothing else left but to search for the dead carcasses of mammals. They also eat turtles and frogs, waiting for food, being in the sky.

Breeding

1. Mature individuals become 6 years old. They create a couple for life. Marriage time falls on March, the birds settle for this period in Europe. Signaling about the desire to be together, the males are courting females.
2. The male begins to rise into the sky, after which with great speed it falls down and screams. The female does not make noises, but with pleasure participates in such matters.
3. After the individuals in question pick up a place and build a nest on it, they introduce the offspring in the same place over the years. Often birds build dwellings in trees at a height of up to 25 meters from the ground. Most often, the burial grounds give preference to tall trees. Among them, oak, pine, poplar, larch, aspen and alder should be distinguished.
4. Almost always nests are located on the treetops. If there is no such possibility, for the arrangement of the dwelling, the birds build a nest on low cliffs or shrubs. Habitat creation is done by both partners. But it is worth noting that the female puts more effort. The result is a rather large nest. They are based on thick branches and knots.
5. The bottom of the nest is lined with dry bark, manure, branches and wool. The diameter of a new dwelling can reach up to 1.5 m. In diameter. The height of the nest is about 70 cm. Over time, its size increases. Couples that produce offspring for a long time, upset the nest up to 2.5 m in diameter. The height is about 1.8 m.
6. If the nests of the burial grounds are empty for a long time, then they are occupied by the Saker Falcons. As a result, such birds can even expel the individuals in question forever. Sparrows, wagtails and jackdaws often settle near old nests. At one time, the female burial lays up to 3 eggs. They have a whitish tinge with purple splashes.
7. If at the first laying eggs were lost, the female lays more, but only in a new nest.After 1.5 months the chicks begin to appear. Both parents are engaged in vidis. However, the female spends most of the time in the nest. Offspring appears in the whitish downy plumage.
8. The first week the mother always stays with the chicks in the nest. At this time, the male protects the family and obtains food for all. After another 2 weeks, the chicks begin to cover themselves with feathers. After 2-2.5 months, the youngsters learn to fly. After that, the chicks leave home and prepare for the first flight for the winter.

Habitat

1. Often, the habitats of the birds in question are steppes, which smoothly pass into the forests. The main criterion for birds is the presence of water and tall trees. Such individuals are migratory. Therefore, the graves overwinter in one place, and nesting occurs in another.
2. The burial grounds always remember habitual habitats, so they always return home. Often these birds can be found in the Caucasus, Asia, Europe and Africa. In addition, the population is often found in India, Iraq, Turkey and Israel. Individuals that live cold in cold regions, winter in the south.

Interesting Facts

1. The birds in question are also often referred to as the “Imperial Eagle”. The burial grounds received such a name due to their behavior and posture. Such features are strongly distinguished from the rest of the relatives.
2. The burial grounds received their not bright name because of the peculiarities of biology, and not because of their way of life. Naturalists of the Urals so called birds in the late 19th century. Such individuals often sat near stone mausoleums.
3. In most European countries, individuals are called “Imperial eagles”. Such birds are among the strongest on the planet. People admire their fearlessness and belligerence.
4. In ancient times there was a custom that when a person died, his body was given to be eaten by the eagles. As soon as the individual ate the liver, people believed that the deceased was reborn into an eagle and continued to live. Many people know that the eagle is a symbol of vision, wisdom and courage.
5. The individuals under consideration are listed in the Red Book. Unfortunately, at present there are very few places that will meet all the conditions that the eagles need. In addition, the birds will not have enough food.
6. In most cases, the population of eagles is reduced due to human factors. People in agriculture use pesticides. In addition, poachers hunt eagles. Forests are constantly cut down, fires occur.

The graves are predatory species of birds. They are unique in nature. Unfortunately, due to human activity, the population of individuals has greatly decreased. At present, the birds are under protection, the species is more or less at a stable mark.

Video: burial ground (Aquila heliaca)