Steppe eagle
Aquila nipalensis
The Steppe Eagle has a dark brown color with a splash of red feathers on his head and black feathers. Young birds of the first year of life a little brighter their older relatives. Their colour varies with each molt and to five years in age, they acquire the final color. Weight poultry ranges from 2.5 to 5 kg with a body length of 60 to 85 cm. Females are larger than males. In recent decades, steppe eagles make their nests even on telephone poles, straw stacks or on trees (usually on the acacias), although they tend to nest on the ground. These Eagles - Monogamous, and couples are permanent. The female lays eggs in the second half of April. Most often it is 1-3 white, but slightly brown eggs. Size 62-74 mm, width - 48-57 mm. Incubation lasts 45 days. Fluffy chicks white. In the nest, they spend about 2 months, and the whole nesting period lasts about 3.5 months. Eagles live up to 40 years in the wild, in captivity, sometimes up to 50.
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Feeding
As a predator steppe eagle prefers small rodents as food, which he is able to catch. Sometimes it can hunt for small chicks, eat carrion and occasionally reptiles.
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Habitat
The main habitat - the virgin steppe, foothills, semi-deserts. In the south-east of Europe habitat covers an area from Romania to p. Urals, and in Asia - East Transbaikal, Argun and the Yellow River Valley.
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Interesting fact
Eagle has very sharp, vision with broad coverage. Each eagle eye is able to focus directly on the 2 items. Visual acuity allows to see a hare at a distance of over three kilometers and a peripheral glance it can reach 270 degrees. With altitude eagle is able to see the production on the surface of 11.5 square kilometers. Eagles effective in the hunt. They do not kill the extra animals are caught only for their own food and chicks. Mainly small game hunting. Eagles not only independently gather food, but also willing to engage in a frank robbery. For example, they can take away the prey from a small bird of prey on the fly. Eagles excellently hunt flying birds. Overtakes them unawares victim, prey to such a height that the bird does not see them. Then dive with such speed that their production does not have time to notice.
