Order Day birds of prey (Accipitres, or Falconiformes)
This order includes about 270 species. These are birds of medium and large size. One of the largest species, the American condor, has a wing about 115 cm long, wingspan up to 275 cm. The smallest birds of prey, the so-called pygmy falcon, have a wing 9-10 cm long.
Birds of prey are characterized by a strong hook-shaped beak bent at the end, the base of which is covered with bare, brightly colored skin - wax, into which the external openings of the nostrils open. The legs of birds of prey are of moderate length, with curved and usually sharp claws (only secretaries have long legs). The claws and beak are used for mortification, and the latter for dismemberment of prey. The toes are relatively long, on the plantar side there are pads that serve to hold the prey. The build is dense, the plumage is rigid and tight to the body. The color is usually dim, mainly gray, brown, red or black, often with an admixture of white. In some species that feed on carrion, the head and part of the neck are naked, non-feathered.
There are 10 primary flight feathers, the number of secondary flight feathers is different, most often 12, but in some well-soaring large species (for example, vultures) 19-20. The tail is usually short (with the exception of the secretary), rounded or carved at the top, of 12 tail feathers (in some large species, of 14).
In most species, males and females are colored similarly, but young birds in the first year, sometimes even later, differ from adults in color. Usually males are smaller than females, but in Old World vultures both sexes are the same size, and in American condors, males are larger than females.
Birds of prey are diurnal, only a few of them are crepuscular.
Birds of prey are widespread all over the world: they are absent only in Antarctica and on some oceanic islands.
In northern and temperate latitudes, part of the species is migratory, part of the saddle roam outside the breeding time.
The lifespan of birds of prey is quite significant. There are cases when the buffoon eagle lived in captivity for 55 years, the golden eagle - 46 years, the condor lived in the Moscow Zoo for 69 years, the goshawk - for 25 years. Ringing data also show that medium-sized carnivorous birds live for at least 15 years. These are hardly all deadlines.
Birds of prey are monogamous. They breed once (rarely twice) a year. Nests of a simple device, usually in trees, sometimes in hollows, on rocks, on the ground. Often, a ready-made nest built by another species of bird is occupied. Usually the same pair from year to year nests in the same nesting area. The number of eggs is different - from 1-2 (in large species) to 6-7 and even 9 (in small ones).
Incubation begins after the first egg is laid, and the chicks in the brood are therefore of different ages. Mainly the female incubates, the male replaces her only for a short time. Large species incubate for almost 2 months (for example, condor, bearded vulture). Medium-sized species incubate for about a month.
Chicks emerge from eggs well pubescent and sighted, but during their stay in the nest they need feeding and heating, as well as protection from enemies. There are two downy outfits, the second is replaced by a feather one. Departure from the nest in small and medium species of predators occurs at about one month of age, in large vultures - only at three or even four months.
The main food of birds of prey is various animals, primarily mammals, birds and insects. Birds of prey often feed on carrion. Few of them feed on plant foods (for example, the African vulture eagle feeds on the fruits of the Guinean and wine palms, the Guiana caracara - on the fruits of Loranthus and Clusia). Some species feed on a wide range of foods, others are highly specialized.
In natural conditions, birds of prey eat their prey with bones, wool, feathers, the undigested remains of which are periodically thrown out through the mouth in the form of so-called pellets.
Most birds of prey seek prey by flying. In this regard, they have well-developed eyesight and the ability to fly.
Birds of prey molt once a year, after the end of the breeding season. The molt is complete. It lasts a long time, which is associated with the need to preserve the bird's flying qualities.
In general, the practical importance of birds of prey for human economic activity should be assessed positively. Most of them are directly beneficial by eating rodents and insects that are harmful to agriculture. Others, destroying primarily sick and weak individuals, are an essential selection factor. Even those birds of prey that feed mainly on hunting or otherwise useful animals cannot cause significant damage, since the total number of these species is low and they are relatively numerous only in sparsely populated areas. Therefore, at present, in the vast majority of countries, birds of prey - in one form or another - are protected. At the same time, the undoubted importance of birds of prey as natural monuments is also taken into account.
From a historical, cultural and sporting point of view, birds of prey are also of particular interest.
The use of birds of prey by humans for hunting purposes - the so-called falconry, or hunting with birds of prey - dates back to ancient times, although much in the history of this hunt remains unclear. Archaeological finds show that birds of prey were hunted in the British Isles as early as the Bronze Age. In Mesopotamia, falconry was known at least in the 8th century BC. NS. The flourishing of falconry in Europe dates back to about the XII-XVII centuries, and its beginning is to some extent connected with the Crusades, when the crusaders could get acquainted with the practice of falconry among the Arabs. Deep social changes that occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, technical innovations, primarily the spread of hunting firearms, caused the decline of hunting with hunting birds. However, it has survived, but on a smaller scale.
In our country, the use of birds of prey for hunting "by feather and by animal" has a long history: in Kievan Rus it dates back at least to the 10th century. The ancestral emblem of the ancient Rurikovich depicted a flying falcon. In the Asian part of the Soviet Union - in Central Asia - it probably has an even more ancient history, but there is little definite information about this. This, of course, is associated with the complex history of the peoples of Central and Central Asia.
In the European part of the Soviet Union, sport hunting with birds of prey ceased at the beginning of this century. Only on the Black Sea coast of Georgia are they still hunted for migratory quails with the Sparrowhawk. As a sport and fishing, hunting with birds of prey takes place in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and on a small scale in Turkmenistan.
For hunting, various types of birds of prey were used, mainly various falcons and hawks, in Asia - the golden eagle and some others. In our country, large falcons (saker falcon, peregrine falcon, gyrfalcon), hawk (sparrowhawk and goshawk) and golden eagle served as hunting birds.
Taming and teaching hunting birds to hunt is not difficult, but requires patience from the hunter. It should always be remembered that birds of prey never become such "servants" of man as dogs. It is not possible to train a bird of prey to bring the caught prey to the owner.
The service life of hunting birds depends on the experience of the hunters and on the care of the bird, as well as on various accidents. Falcon and goshawk serve 3-4 years, but in good hands up to 20 and even 25 years. Golden eagles also live for the same number of years.
To make it easier to find a hunting bird on the hunt, bells or bells are put on it. They are tied to falcons with small straps, and hawks in Central Asia are attached with a metal pin to the middle steering (tail) feather.
To protect the hand, the hunter wears (in Europe on the left, in Asia on the right hand) a thick leather glove with a gaiter. It is difficult to carry golden eagles on the arm, and therefore in Central Asia hunters carry them on a stand with a seat; the hunter rests the base of this stand on the saddle.
Besides sporting interest, hunting with birds of prey can also be cost effective. An experienced "berkutchi" (a hunter with a golden eagle) can catch 30-40, and sometimes 50-60 foxes per season. The best hunting golden eagles also take wolves. A good goshawk in the hands of an experienced hunter can catch several pheasants, and a sparrowhawk - 50-60 quails per day of hunting,
There are five families in the order of birds of prey To the family american vultures(Cathartidae) includes 6 species distributed in North and South America; to the family secretaries(Sagittariidae) - only 1 species inhabiting the savannas of Africa; to the family the skopin(Pandionidae) - 1 species with an almost cosmopolitan distribution, except for the far north and south; to the family hawk(Accipitridae) - 205 species found all over the world, except for Antarctica and some oceanic islands; family falcon(Falconidae) includes 58 species, distributed almost everywhere, except for Antarctica and some oceanic islands.
Biological encyclopedia
The vastness of Russia is home to a great variety of birds of prey, which can be attributed to several orders - Yastrebins, Yastreboobrazny, Skopin, Sokolin and Sokoloobrazny, Owl, Sipukhov, Voronov. All of them are endowed with excellent eyesight, strong, large claws and beak, and they all hunt in flight. Let us consider in more detail the representatives of these detachments.
Balaban
Balaban belongs to the Falcon family. This diurnal bird of prey with a wingspan of up to 1.3 meters and weighing more than 1 kg is found in Russia in the south of Siberia and in Transbaikalia. The population of this bird is not too large, therefore, in one of the Siberian reserves, in 1990, its artificial breeding was started. Currently, it is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. Balaban is a nomadic, migratory bird that flies to warm lands for the winter. The balaban feeds on small rodents, as well as birds, which it is able to catch. Females lay 5-6 eggs in the nests of other birds - ravens, buzzards, buzzards. As a rule, these nests are built on rocks and steppe hills. Chicks appear one month after laying eggs, and begin to fly at the age of 1.5 months. Balaban is a hunting bird; for hunting it is acquired in special nurseries or zoos.
Balaban
Golden eagle
The golden eagle is also a daytime bird of prey, but it is a representative of the Hawk family. This is a rather large and strong bird with a body length of up to 95 cm and a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters. Females are much larger than males, weighing up to 7 kg, while the weight of males does not exceed 5 kg. In Russia, the golden eagle can be found in the third part of the territory, but very rarely. Basically, it nests in the mountains - in Altai, the Caucasus and the Sayan Mountains, but it also lives in other regions of the country. Due to the wide wingspan, it is difficult for the golden eagle to hunt in the forest, so it settles in copses, on rocks, along the edges of forests, where it can catch hares, foxes, wood grouses, black grouses, and even roe deer and deer cubs. The golden eagle is a hunting bird and hunts both foxes and wolves for its owners. Under natural conditions, the golden eagle settles in a nest made of thick branches, and every year the nest is completed, and can reach three meters in diameter and up to two meters in height. For the winter, the golden eagle flies south, but tries to stay as close to the nest as possible. A pair of golden eagles may have several nests at the same time, but the female lays eggs only in one. There can be 1-2-4 eggs in a clutch, chicks appear in 40-45 days, basically, the female incubates them, and the male provides her with food. From the brood, only 1 chick may remain, which was born first, it pecks on younger brothers and sisters, and takes away their food. Golden eagles get up on the wing at the age of 65-80 days.
Golden eagle Bearded man
The bearded man is a bird of prey from the Hawk family. In Russia he is called a lamb, but he does not hunt live sheep, but prefers to pick up carrion. And only sometimes it attacks weak and small animals, for example, the bearded man lifts the turtles into the air and throws them on the rocks so that the shell breaks. He is called a bearded man for a bunch of feathers that grow under the beak in the form of a beard. Bird weight up to 7.5 kg, length up to 125 cm, wing length up to 80 cm, wingspan up to 2-3 meters. In Russia, the bearded man settles in the rocks of the Sayan, Altai and Caucasus. The bird is rare and listed in the Red Book of Russia. Bearded nests are built in caves or crevices of rocks, the female lays 1-2 eggs and incubates them herself, while the male hunts and brings her food. Chicks hatch after about 1.5 months, and fly out of the nest at the age of 100-130 days.
Bearded man Derbnik
Derbnik is a predatory, diurnal bird of the Falcon family. Merlin is a relatively small bird, its body length is up to 32 cm, wingspan is up to 73 cm. Females are slightly larger than males and weigh up to 300 grams, while the weight of males is in the range of 150-230 grams. In Russia, the merlin lives in the Arkhangelsk, Smolensk, Moscow, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as in Tatarstan, Yakutia, Yamal and Taimyr. For the winter, the merlin flies to warm lands, where small birds fly away, which it hunts both in Russia and in the south. In addition to birds, small rodents, as well as insects, become prey for merlin. The merlin makes a nest on the ground or in trees, but it can survive from the native nest of smaller and weaker birds. The female lays 3-4 eggs, chicks appear in a month, and in a month they begin to fly out of the nest. The family flies south in early autumn. 
Derbnik
Serpentine
The serpent is a predator of the Hawk family. The bird is rare, endangered species, listed in the Red Data Books of Russia and Belarus. The body length of the snake-eagle is up to 75 cm, the wingspan is up to 190 cm, the length of the wings is up to 60 cm. In Russia, it lives in the territory of South-Western Siberia, Bashkiria, Mordovia, Kabardino-Balkaria, in the Bryansk, Moscow, Smolensk regions. It mainly settles in forests or steppes, where there are at least a few trees, as well as next to swamps. The snake-eater builds its nests itself, but rather ineptly, they turn out to be small and small in size. Chooses places for nests in trees or on rocks. The female lays 1 egg, less often 2, but after the appearance of the first chick, she stops hatching, so the second embryo simply dies. Incubation lasts up to 40 days, the chick begins to fly at the age of 70-80 days. It feeds on snakes, snakes, snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, small rodents and other wild animals and birds. The bird is migratory; for the winter it flies to the countries of South Asia or Africa.
Serpentine Buzzard (sarych)
Buzzard (sarych) is a day hunter, a bird of prey of the Yastrebins family. In Russia, it lives in the Urals and Siberia, prefers to settle in forests and forest-tundra. The bird is of medium size, body length is about 55 cm, wingspan is up to 130 cm. It hunts by small rodents and small birds, in times of poor hunting it also feeds on carrion. It flies to warm regions in mid or late August, or in mid September, returns to the nesting site in April or May. The buzzard lives and hunts alone, but before leaving, it gathers in flocks. Buzzard builds nests from deciduous and coniferous trees, from dry branches and brushwood, and braids with grass stalks. In a clutch of 3-4-5 eggs, clutching occurs in April or May, chicks appear after 33-36 days, both parents feed them until the age of 44-50 days, when they fly out of the nest and begin to forage on their own. In general, buzzards are good parents, and in captivity can take care of other people's chicks.
Buzzard (sarych) Kobchik
Kobchik is a day hunter of the Falcon family. The bird is not large, body length up to 33 cm, wing length up to 35 cm, wingspan up to 77 cm, weight about 200 grams. Although the buzzard is a bird of prey, it rarely catches small rodents, lizards and frogs, its main prey is large insects - beetles, grasshoppers, dragonflies. Sometimes sparrows and even pigeons are caught in its claws. They lay eggs in other people's nests, surviving ravens from their places, they can choose a hollow in a tree trunk, or a hole. In clutch there are 3-4 eggs, male almost does not take part in their incubation. Kobchik lives in entire colonies, in which there can be up to a hundred pairs. The bird is migratory, arrives in May, flies in August to Africa or South Asia. The brood of chicks falls on the appearance of a large number of insects, mainly dragonflies, which are the main food. In Russia, the red fawn lives in the forest-steppes, on the shores of Lake Baikal, in Yakutia, and the Primorsky Territory.
Kobchik Kite
The Kite is a day hunter from the Hawk family. In Russia, you can see red and black kites, there are 8 species of them in nature. This is a medium-sized bird, weighing a little over 1 kg, but with long wings, their span is up to one and a half meters. In Russia, the kite lives almost everywhere, from the Smolensk region to the Far East, and from Arkhangelsk to the Caucasus Mountains.
The red kite is distinguished by a forked tail, however, it does not possess special courage and swiftness, like other relatives. The kite hunts in a rather peculiar way - it soars to a great height, and from there they look out for prey in order to rush at it suddenly, confuse it and carry it away in tenacious claws. Their prey is poultry chicks, as well as frogs, lizards, large insects, snakes, mice, and rabbits. Nests are built on tall trees and lined with found or stolen rags, paper, and other junk. In clutch there are 2-3-4 eggs, female incubates them. The black kite is slightly less than red, and its plumage is darker. At the beginning of autumn, the kite flies to the warm countries of Africa or Asia, and returns to Russia in the spring.
Kite Merlin
Gyrfalcon is a daytime predator of the Falcon family. Gyrfalcon is rightfully the largest falcon - it weighs about 2 kg, wingspan up to 140 cm, body length - up to 60 cm. Siberia. Some species of the gyrfalcon are migratory, some are sedentary, from the forest-tundra in the fall they fly a little further south, into the forests. Gyrfalcon hunts small and large mammals and birds, can catch a hare, partridge, duck. A couple of gyrfalcons do not build a nest, they use the nests of ravens or smaller birds of prey for laying eggs, if their nests are located in rocks, niches, cornices, and are covered with a canopy. In clutch there are 3-4 eggs, chicks appear in 30-35 days, fly out of the nest in a month and a half. Gyrfalcon is a good, valuable hunter, but he himself often becomes the prey of poachers, in the North in the summer it can fall into a trap set on a polar fox
Merlin Owl, or scarecrow
The owl, or the pugach, is a night hunter, a bird of the Owl family. The body length of an eagle owl reaches 75 cm, a wingspan of 190 cm, a weight of about 3 kg in females, and up to 2.5 kg in males. Several species of eagle owls live in Russia - the common eagle owl, the fish eagle owl, the great gray owl, the long-tailed owl. In Russia, the eagle owl lives wherever there is a food base for it, namely, a large bird, hares, gophers, mice and other available animals. Therefore, the habitat of the owl in our country stretches from Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to the western borders. The owl can live and eat in various landscapes from taiga to steppe and deserts, but for reproduction it requires secluded corners in the form of forests, rocky slopes, ravines and hills. The bird is sedentary, is not afraid of humans, and can settle within the city in abandoned buildings.
The bird of prey is endowed with a special "weapon" - everyone will recognize it. This is a beak curved with a sharp hook, tearing prey to pieces, and claws, in a death grip, piercing the victim - a weapon of an obviously offensive type, which these birds
successfully used in robbery raids. However, not all of them have retained in the course of evolution a predilection for hunting live prey, which is described below.
In 1962-1963. on the pages of the magazine "Okhota i Okhotnaya khozyaystvo" there was a discussion, the significance of which will be fully appreciated only by descendants. Let's just say that if in 1962 in the USSR 150 thousand birds of prey were shot and the shooting was carried out with the full encouragement of hunting organizations, then in 1964 a decree was adopted that almost completely stopped the campaign against birds of prey.
It all started with an article by Professor G.P. Dementieva "Is it necessary to exterminate birds of prey?" The professor wrote that in many countries of the world, feathered predators are protected by law. In England, for example, since 1954 it is forbidden to kill birds of prey and destroy their nests. Live falcons and hawks for "falconry", which has long become fashionable in the West and in our country, can only be caught under special licenses.
Both in antiquity and in the Middle Ages, people loved and took care of birds of prey. In England and Denmark, for example, the man who killed the falcon fell into the hands of the executioner. But then the birds of prey were declared harmful, they began to be ruthlessly exterminated. Was it helpful?
No, only harm! People wanted to save the game and increase its number, destroying its natural enemies, but the game did not increase, it even became less. The first to notice this was the Norwegian August Brinkman. Since the beginning of this century, the Norwegians have mercilessly exterminated birds of prey in their forests - they wanted to see more white partridges. But partridges became less and less every year. In 1927, Brinkman proved that partridges died from diseases (mainly from coccidiosis - intestinal parasites). Birds of prey usually attack not the bird closest to them, but the sick one, which does not fly like others. Why? Because the sick is easier to get! Destroying a large number of sick partridges, birds of prey performed the role of orderlies in the forests, which means they benefited both partridges and people who cared about their well-being.
There are many examples of how birds of prey were exterminated in the same way in different countries, and the number of game, contrary to expectations, decreased and decreased. Much could be said about this, but perhaps not worth it, because everything is already clear.
The largest family in the order of diurnal birds of prey is the hawk. This includes more than 200 of 270 species of carnivores: all except for osprey, falcon, secretary and American vulture (these birds are allocated to special families). Now let's talk about the main groups of birds of prey.
GRITS AND AMERICAN GRITS... In the course of evolution, some birds of prey have become unaccustomed to dashing attacks on game. They preferred carrion, became scavengers. The tendency, of course, is unattractive, but the role of corpse-eating birds (you can call them more respectfully - orderlies) in nature is very great.
The vultures of the Old and New World are rivals of hyenas. Naturalist Bernhard Grzimek wrote about this: “Eating carrion, vultures enter into a competitive struggle with four-legged, first of all with spotted hyenas - very strong and aggressive animals that drive away vultures until they are full. And the vultures need to fly to the prey before the hyenas get to it. However, hyenas themselves are often guided by the vultures diving from the sky to the earth. Seeing this, the hyenas immediately gallop to where the vultures have descended. " Moving faster than the land route - by air, vultures are often ahead of hyenas by only a few minutes. In these few minutes, they need to have time to swallow a sufficient amount of food. Sometimes the vultures are so full that when the enemy suddenly appears, they have to regurgitate what they have swallowed in order to quickly reduce their weight and take off.
Since to find in nature the bodies of dead large animals
Royal vulture.
Black vulture.
it is not so easy, vultures look out for them from a great height, flying around vast territories. They hover for hours in the skies (but this does not apply to vultures), higher than any other birds. One of the collisions of the bar with an airplane took place at an altitude of over 11 kilometers! But usually the vultures do not fly higher than 6 km. Naturally, vultures have excellent eyesight. American vultures, however, have a different search method. Many of the birds of this family, if not all, are endowed with a rare gift in birds - a good sense of smell.
The king's vulture is a large, beautifully and variegated bird. These vultures nest in tree hollows in tropical forests from Mexico to Uruguay. In the gloom and impassable thicket of the jungle, it is difficult to see the corpse of even a large animal from a tree. But the smell is given out by carrion, the royal vulture smells it and flies to feed.
The Andean condor lives in the mountains and along the western coast of South America. This is the heaviest bird of prey (its weight is up to 11 kg, and occasionally - all 14). The Andean condor is the well-known kidnapper who, in Jules Verne's novel “The Children of Captain Grant,” carried away in Robert's claws (needless to say that in fact he can’t bear such a burden?).
Male condors have a crest on their heads, and around their necks there is something like a white “collar”. The condor lives high in the mountains (up to 7 thousand m above sea level) and near the sea, where it picks up dead fish, bites the carcasses of dead seals, steals eggs and chicks from petrels and cormorants. Condor nests in rocks. Usually two eggs lie on a loose bedding of branches, or even just on a bare stone. In captivity, condors lived to the enviable age of 77 years! So it is one of the longest living birds.
In Los Angeles (California, USA) in the biological museum is found in Argentina the skeleton of a giant bird that died out about 6 million years ago - a relative of the South American condor. Scientists have dubbed it "the Argentine majestic bird." Its wingspan is 7 m 60 cm. This is one of the largest creatures that have ever soared into the air over our planet.
Another condor (but not extinct, but still living) is California. It is black in color, the “collar” around the neck is also black, not white, and there is no crest on the head (unlike the Andean condor). Previously, the Californian condor lived almost throughout North America. But these birds were exterminated, they also perished from the poisons that the herders put on the corpses of cows and sheep, intended for wolves and coyotes. In 1960, only 60 of them remained in California, and the birds continued to die. In the 80s. it was decided to capture all wild condors and settle them in reserves and zoos. The latter was caught in 1987 (there were 27 of them in total). Condors breed only once every two years. In a clutch there is usually one egg, rarely two. The chick is fed for 6 months, and then for more than a year adult birds guard and feed him. The chick grows very slowly, it becomes fully adult only at 6 years old. So, as you can see, the prospects for the recovery of the condor population are not very encouraging.
Let's move from America to the Old World: 16 species of vultures live here. They have a bare or slightly downy head and neck, a “collar” on the neck is also usually downy, a massive beak (only vultures have a long and thin beak). A powerful beak is needed to tear large carrion, the absence of plumage on the head and neck - so as not to get very dirty in the devoured entrails. A “collar” at the bottom of the neck is also necessary for hygiene purposes. It traps the blood flowing down the neck, and thus protects the rest of the plumage from contamination.
Still, feathers get dirty, so vultures love to swim. They are clean. Although carrion is often eaten so rotten that any other animal, even a hyena, eating it would die. Their gastric juice contains substances that neutralize cadaveric poison. And in order to cleanse feathers from all kinds of bacteria, in the ultraviolet rays of the sun, killing microbes, vultures disinfect their plumage, ruffling it and spreading their wings. Now one side, then the other is exposed to the rays of the daylight. A special "command" pose encourages all birds in the flock to take such sunbathing. As soon as one vulture fluffed up its wings, the others immediately follow this command visible to the eye: "Everyone should be disinfected!"
These birds do not search for prey using their sense of smell, like their American cousins. They soar at a great height, barely distinguishable from the ground as black dots, and they notice everything: who on earth has already died, who is dying. They fall like a stone from similar heights. If the animal dies, they do not finish it off, but sit around and patiently wait for its death. For such a "hunt" you need open spaces with a good view from above - plateaus, steppes. There the vultures collect their terrible tribute.
Black vultures (in pairs - male and female) build their huge - up to a hundredweight - nests on trees. Where there are no trees, they usually do not nest. When the forests in northern Africa thinned out, black vultures began to die out in these places, and, apparently, now they are no longer there. But it is surprising that in the east, in the Gobi Desert, black vultures have adapted to nest on rocks. They are afraid of man, but they boldly drive away every animal and bird from falling, even wolves and eagles.
Vultures are smaller than vultures and are lighter in color: plumage is light brown; head, neck, “collar” are white. They nest on rocks in groups, forming a kind of colonies. The wingspan of the Pamir snow vulture sometimes exceeds 3 m.
Eared vultures live in India and Africa. Why were they called eared? They have ear-shaped red "earrings" on either side of their bare neck. They are not as heavy and heavy as black vultures.
An interesting observation was made by Dutch scientists Jane van Lowik-Goodall and Hugo van Lowik: “When the wildfire drove the ostriches out of their nests, their eggs were not damaged. Eared and white-headed vultures tried to break them open with strong blows of their beaks, but to no avail.
Then two vultures arrived. First, they also tried to break the eggshells with their beaks. When none of this worked, they found stones weighing 100-300 g, took them in their beaks. Stretching vertically, raising their heads with stones clamped in their beaks, they then threw them directly onto the eggs lying at their feet. After 4-12 blows, the shell broke and the feast began. " To break the egg, the birds sometimes carried the stone 50 meters away.
The researchers then offered the vultures a variety of eggs - real and plaster - and watched their reactions. The birds tried to chop any egg-shaped object with stones, even if it was huge or painted in unusual colors - green or red. But they did not pay attention to the white cube at all. Scientists have found, in addition, that young vultures do not yet know how to break eggs and learn this from older birds.
There are two types of vultures living on Earth: brown - in Africa and common - also in Africa, and in addition, in southern Europe, in Central and South Asia.
One of the birds of the vulture subfamily has strongly deviated from the rest in their food preferences - this is the African palm vulture. He can be said to be vegetarian compared to other vultures. It feeds mainly on the fruits of some palms: taking the fruit in its claws, it rips off the shell with its beak, eats the kernels and feeds the chicks with them. He usually nests on palms. This beautiful black-brown bird lives in the forests of Africa, usually near rivers and sea shores, where it also catches live and collects dead fish, crayfish and molluscs.
The bearded lamb eats a lot of carrion. He especially loves bones: he even swallows cow's vertebrae whole! From the skulls and tubular bones, he extracts the brain, breaking them against stones. In some places, for example in Greece, turtles become one of the objects of his hunting lusts. When it is not possible to open the shell of a large turtle, the bird rises with it into the air and throws it from a height onto the stones: the shell breaks against them. There is a legend that the ancient Greek poet Aeschylus was predicted death on a certain day from an object falling from a height. He went that day to a place where there was nothing taller than a man. But even there, a turtle thrown by a bearded man from a height pierced his head. The bird took the poet's bald head for a stone.
The bearded lamb steals small lambs from the gape shepherds. On dangerous mountain paths, with blows of his wings, he pushes sheep, goats, chamois, dogs (and even supposedly children and adults, which hardly happens in reality) into the abyss. Ornithologist Vladimir Galushin wrote about this: “Bearded men are very inquisitive and sometimes fly up to a person without any aggressive intentions, apparently just wanting to look at him better. However, the impressions of a hunter somewhere on a mountain steep, when a kind of two-meter "curious" rushing towards him with a whistle, is also quite easy to understand. "
Why this bird from the vulture tribe was called the lamb is now clear to us. Under his beak he has a bunch of feathers, like a short pointed beard - hence the "bearded man".
High in the mountains, bearded men nest: in rock niches, in caves. The nest is folded from branches. To keep it warm and soft, it is lined with grass and sheep's wool. The female lays two eggs, but usually only one chick grows up - the second dies.
In southern Europe (Pyrenees, Balkans) there are few bearded animals left: no more than 150 birds. In South Africa, too. There are still quite a lot of them in East Africa: about 12 thousand. Many of them have also survived in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
SECRETARY... The secretary is a special bird: when he walks with dignity on long legs on the savannah, he looks like a short-billed crane. On his head he has a crest of black feathers, which, if the bird is calm, are folded in a narrow bunch. For the crest, they called him secretary: in the old days, at the office
Secretary bird.
An osprey carrying a caught pike.
It was a habit of employees to put a quill behind their ear so that it was always at hand when it was necessary to write.
Secretaries usually go in pairs not far from each other. They look for locusts, beetles, lizards and small rodents in the grass and bushes. But snakes ... Snakes for secretaries are the most coveted prey. The secretary sees the snake - quickly runs to it, hits it with his paws. The blow is strong, but the snake is tenacious, its secretary will hit ten times before killing it. If the snake tries to launch a counterattack, the bird deftly exposes its feathers to its poisonous teeth.
The secretary flies without much desire, only when he is forced to do so or to sleep in the trees. Secretaries usually arrange nests on tall thorny bushes. They are large - up to 2 m in diameter, but so well covered by dense branches that they are invisible.
They live only in the savannas and steppes of Africa, south of the Sahara. Secretaries were also found in the south of France 20 million years ago.
OSPREY... The osprey, or the fisherman, preferred fish to any food. Osprey nest or winter on all continents except Antarctica.
Osprey nests are easy to recognize: they do not build them in the forks of branches, but proudly crown them tops of large trees (sometimes even telegraph poles and power line supports, much to the displeasure of those who serve these lines). Osprey have been using these nests for decades. Chicks, already grown up, sit in nests for two months. Then, under the guidance of adults, they learn to fish. A week later they themselves skillfully fish.
The fish throws from a height at the osprey are virtuoso. Noticing a fish from a shaving flight, half folding its wings, extending its legs far forward, usually at an acute angle, but often in a steep peak, the osprey rapidly falls onto its prey. Often it plunges headlong into the water and immediately soars up, carrying away the fish in its claws. It will immediately shake itself off in the air and fly to a cliff or to a tree for a bite. Then it will fly over the water, dipping its legs and head into it in order to wash off the fish slime and scales.
The osprey has long claws, the fingers on the underside are seated with sharp tubercles (the slippery fish will not escape!). The osprey weighs about 2 kg, and from the water it pulls fish 2-3 kg in weight. But usually fish weighing 100-200 g predominate in her diet, and the daily norm is about 400 g.
The osprey cannot pick up prey heavier than 4 kg. And, it happens, having sunk the claws deep into it, does not have time to free them in time and then drowns, carried away to the bottom by a too heavy victim. More than once they caught pikes and carp with a gloomy "decoration" on their back - the skeleton of an osprey, which was a terrible rider on a fish. There is a photo of a carp. It was small - weighed 4 kg - and still managed to drag the osprey into the depths.
When fishing is unlucky, the osprey hunts mice, frogs, even small crocodiles where their paths converge. Some eagles pirate, attacking an osprey in the air when it has a successful hunt. We have to throw the prey in an osprey, and the robber deftly grabs it on the fly and takes it away without hesitation as his legitimate tribute.
FALCON... Narrow wings, fast flight, frequent flapping of the wings, a tooth on the cutting edge of the beak are typical features of birds of the falcon family. Falcons nest in trees, on rocks, in some places and on the ground (peregrine falcon, merlin, red-footed fawn, kestrel); even sometimes in burrows (both common and steppe kestrels).
A real falcon (more often it is called by the Kalmyk name - peregrine falcon) is powerful-breasted, with well-visible oblong black spots under the eyes ("mustache"). Peregrine falcon nests almost all over the world, but it is very rare everywhere. It is about the size of a crow. The aforementioned "mustaches" well distinguish him from other falcons - no one else has them, except for the hobby, but he is smaller and with red "trousers" - the feathers of the legs and the tail.
Peregrine Falcon almost always hunts only flying birds: from swallows to geese. It beats with its claws, diving from a height, and finishes off heavy birds (the same geese) already on the ground. During an air attack, falling on the game at an angle of 45 degrees, the peregrine falcon develops an incredible speed - up to 350 kilometers per hour! “When chasing prey, it flies so fast that only a whistle is heard and an object is seen flying through the air, in which there is no way to distinguish a falcon,” wrote Alfred Bram. Nature has endowed the peregrine falcon with excellent eyesight: he notices a pigeon from a distance of eight kilometers! The only way for the bird to escape from the peregrine falcon is to rise above it into the sky. Well-flying birds, such as pigeons, do this.
The largest of the falcons is the gyrfalcon, an inhabitant of the polar tundra and forest tundra. Its weight is up to 2 kg, the wingspan is almost 1.5 m. Most often, gyrfalcons kill prey only by the force of the blow. These beautiful falcons were appreciated before (and now) as hunting birds, especially white gyrfalcon, with few dark streaks.
After the largest one, we will focus on the smallest falcons - dwarf ones. They are as fast-winged and courageous as their large relatives - gyrfalcon and peregrine falcon. Insects are their daily prey. But in swift attacks, pygmy falcons attack and beat small birds, such as blackbirds, which are sometimes larger than themselves. Dwarf falcons are the smallest birds of prey on Earth: will fit
on the palm! In one of them - muti, an inhabitant of the Himalayan foothills - the body length from head to tip of tail does not exceed 20 cm. Professor G.P. Dementyev writes: “The name“ turbidity ”means“ a handful ”. This is explained by the fact that in India it was used for hunting quail. Falcons were kept in handfuls and thrown to the prey. "
Spring. Life is raging everywhere. Birds of prey turn, with a special mating flight and cry, declaring their readiness to unite in pairs. The male of the common kestrel, who has not yet found a pair, invites a female by a ritual flight from top to bottom to some old crow's nest of his choice. When she arrives, the birds together will slightly refresh the nest, bring fresh bedding and hatch chicks in it.
The kestrel is easily recognizable by its hunting style. The kestrel catches its prey - rodents, large insects - on the ground, in steppes, fields, meadows. Looks out for it, hovering in the air and often, often flapping its wings ("shaking"), as if suspended on an invisible thread. For this she is popularly called "shaker". Noticing, for example, a vole, the kestrel falls down like a stone, opens its wings at the very ground and grabs the animal.
The family life of the falcons was carefully studied by the zoologist and writer Niko Tinbergen. For hundreds of hours he closely watched the hobby falcons.
The hobby is very similar to the peregrine falcon, only smaller; he has the same clearly visible "mustache". He just as quickly and on the fly captures various medium-sized birds, even manages to catch fast-winged swifts.
So, here on a pine tree in a nest, an egg cracked under a bony shell. The first black-eyed chick, dressed in white fluff, emerged from the wreckage of the fragile cradle. Others came for the first.
According to the law of nature, prescribed to birds of prey, the mother is always with her chicks. The father hunts for food for them. He, intoxicated with good luck, shouts "QQ" far from the nest - a kilometer away. The cheglochik was dozing, but, imagine, she heard. Flew to meet. They approached two hundred meters from the nest. When he slowed down the flight, she turned her back down in the air and took the prey from his claws into hers. First, the female plucks feathers or wool from the killed animal, then tears the prey into small pieces and distributes it to the children. She fed all the chicks, ate herself and dozed off. On average, every 77 minutes is followed by meal after meal in Hobby families.
But now the black-eyed chicks have already grown up. The pieces of meat delicately brought by the mother are not enough for them. They want to torment their prey. They rush to the mother, knocking her down. Avoiding these "rudeness", she now simply throws into the nest what she brings: let them tear themselves.
Another month has passed - the chicks got out of the nest, settled on the knots. Soon they began to fly, learned to receive lunch right in the air. By the end of August, young hobbyists have already skillfully caught dragonflies, then - and birds (the favorite food of hobbyists is coastal swallows). And in September it's time to get ready for a long road - from temperate latitudes to winter in Africa.
If you build the falcons living in Russia, so to speak, "by height", then in front of everyone there will be a gyrfalcon, followed by a saker falcon, a peregrine falcon, a hobby; further - the common kestrel, steppe kestrel, merlin, red fawn, almost identical in size.
The falcon inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea was named after the princess Eleanor d "Arborea, who ruled most of the island of Sardinia at the end of the 14th century. guard hawks and falcons.
Alet chicks hatch late, in August, but not out of carelessness, but in accordance with local conditions: just when the streams of migratory birds stretch to the south over the Mediterranean Sea, alet chicks will also grow up. At this time, it will be easier to feed them: game is flying in abundance from the north. Hundreds of male Aletes fly out to meet her early in the morning and, lining up in the sky with a deployed front, form a living network two kilometers wide and one kilometer high. More than 60 species of birds perish in the clawed paws of this "net".
Let's dwell on some of the overseas representatives of the falcon family. Forest, or laughing, falcons live in the tropical wilds of South America. They deftly sweep through the thick of the branches, jump over the trees like monkeys. Either in flight, or fast running on the ground, they chase snakes, lizards and various other living creatures. A poisonous snake will surely bite off its head and carry neutralized prey to the nest. At dusk, in the evening and in the morning, the falcon couples shout in a duet "ha ha ha". Their wild laughter frightens the weary travelers wandering through the swampy forest. The voices of the forest falcons are reminiscent of the eerie groans of a tortured man.
Likewise, on the ground and in low flight, but not in the forests, but in the pampas and steppes, along the coasts of the seas and rivers, the caracars, or vulture falcons, are looking for food. Their food is carrion, garbage near villages and various small animals. The Indian name "karakara" conveys the creaking cry of these birds. Chimango (this is the name of one of the types of karakar) love to follow the plow, pick up, like rooks, earthworms. Ticks and gadfly larvae are pecked out on the backs of the cows. Where the herds graze, where the steppe is plowed, there is chimango.
Few dare to keep company with the red-breasted caracar when he finds his delicacy. I found a nest of large black wasps in the foliage, boldly approaches, hung upside down, clutching the wall of the nest with its claws, stuck my head into the hole from which wasps rushed at it in a swarm. And he eats their larvae, huddled up to the shoulders in the wasp's house, and, as you can see, does not really suffer from wasp bites.
Hawks... Residents of the Moscow region can occasionally meet here two hawks: a large hawk (goshawk) and a smaller copy of it - a sparrowhawk. Dark clear streaks crossing the chest and abdomen of the hawk in transverse rows distinguish it from other diurnal birds of prey living in Russia. In the north-east of Siberia, white goshaws are also not uncommon.
Professor N.S. Poniatowski talked about the reaction of birds to the appearance of the goshawk: “As soon as the goshaw appears in the distance, the whole bird world becomes agitated; even in the yard, near human habitation, pigeons and chickens rush to some hidden place and there seem to freeze. It is difficult for them to be driven out of their shelter after the hawk has long departed. Hawk attacks birds do not forget for several days or even weeks, avoiding the place where it happened. Large chickens, straining their last strength, run with a predator on their backs into the house, as if they are looking for protection from a person. " Despite the fact that the goshawk sometimes carries away poultry, it cannot be considered a "harmful" bird. He destroys the weak and sick birds, heals their populations.
In the spring the goshawk with a sharp cry "gig-gig-gig" notifies the district of its marital intentions. In these birds, married couples have been inseparable for years. An alien male, trying to destroy their union with his invasion, is at great risk. He is attacked together, the female - with special rage, and, it happens, she even kills an intruder, plucks, tears into pieces and eats. At the nest of one such friendly hawk pair, half a dozen male candidates killed and plucked were found in the spring. In general, in hawks, the "weaker" sex prevails in weight and strength over the "strong", the size of the male is often one third smaller than that of the female. This is the case with many birds of prey, for example, with falcons, but with condors, the opposite is true.
The male of the sparrowhawk usually warns the female with a special cry from a distance that it is carrying food. She flies out to meet and picks her up. Or, flying over the nest, the male throws killed birds into it. Hawks, like falcons, carry their prey in their claws.
If the mother dies, then the chicks also die when they are very small and cannot tear apart the birds brought by the male themselves. The father just throws and throws them into the nest, filling up the chicks dying of hunger with food. But sometimes the "maternal" instinct awakens in the male, and he begins, if the female died, to tear the prey to pieces and feed the chicks.
The eyes of the chicks of almost all birds of prey are black, they are clearly visible against the background of their white or gray-white downy plumage. It is a visible sign (release) that encourages parents to feed their offspring. When they are full, the chicks turn their backs to their parent. Then the feeding bird, not seeing black eyes, stops feeding the chicks. Once in the nest of a sparrowhawk, which was being observed by zoologists, one already full chick deftly tipped over onto its back. His mother, seeing his black eyes turned to her, thrust and thrust a piece of meat into his mouth. But the chick did not want to eat and closed his mouth. Then she put food between his eyes!
Harpy is a very large tropical hawk. Lives in Latin America. The appearance of the harpy is to match the name, fierce and terrible (the ancient Greeks called the mythical winged woman-monster Harpy). With the power of her claws, the strength of her muscles, perhaps she will surpass all feathered predators. He drags pigs and dogs from the villages.
Kills sloths, monkeys, nose raccoons and various other fairly large animals. The flight of harpies in the thick of the forest is accompanied by the frightened cries of monkeys - howler monkeys and capuchins, parrots. Courageously attacking, harpies even drive a person away from the nest.
The nest of the harpies is huge - more than two meters in diameter, lined with abundant greenery - leaves and moss. Built on a mighty tree by a river or stream. And in this giant nest, harpies hatch only one yellowish egg.
The harpy feathers of the inhabitants of the wild forest act as money: they can be exchanged for anything. An Indian who kills or captures a harpy gets everything he needs to live.
The monkey-eating harpy was discovered in the Philippines at the end of the 19th century. Unfortunately, it is almost exterminated - there are only about a hundred of these birds. The International Union of Zoos has decided not to buy more of these harpies from the Filipinos. Perhaps such a belated measure will help save the endangered species.
BOXES... Above the shores of lakes and rivers, you can see a brown, almost black bird that hovers in large circles (sometimes it never flaps its wings in 15 minutes). This is a black kite. It is easy to recognize a kite: it is the only bird of prey with a forked tail in central Russia. In the black kite, the triangular notch on the tail is small, in the red kite (so named for its reddish plumage) it is rather deep.
The naturalist V. Galushin wrote about the habits of the black kite: “We have never met a big hoarder. In the nests of the kite there is nothing. In them you can find indispensable clods of earth (chicks tamp them into a kind of asphalt pad), scraps of newspapers and very thorny bushes of a telorez. Once in the kite's nest they found a bunch of forget-me-nots tied with a ribbon, and another time - a brand new nylon stocking! " Kites, like vultures, bring food to the chicks into the goiter and regurgitate.
Kites feed only on carrion, fish and small animals - from insects to chicks. Large and medium-sized birds, neither domestic nor wild, are not beaten. The kite is a useful bird, although it may be strange for some to hear it.
But the American slug-eating kite preferred mollusks to any other food. The beak of the slug eater is rather long and thin, with a sharp hook at the end. This is a special-purpose weapon: putting it under the horny lid, the slug-eating kite removes the snails from their shells. It is the snails that he mainly eats.
In the United States, many swamps have been drained, snails have nowhere to live, and slug-eating kites are dying out. There are still quite a few of them in South America. These birds nest in colonies.
CANYUKI... Unfortunately, the people call any bird of prey a hawk and a vulture. But both the one and the other rarely come across.
Karakara.
Buzzard with a trapped mouse.
If a "hawk" hovers over the forest, making large circles, especially at the edges and clearings, screams nasally, viscously, "kya" or "kiii" in flight, and its tail is straight back cut, without a notch, like a swallow, and the plumage is gray -brown, then this "hawk" is an ordinary buzzard, or buzzard. Very useful (a family of buzzards eats 10-15 mice per day) and, perhaps, the most common bird of prey in the Moscow region. Lives in Europe and the forest-steppe zone of Asia.
They called him a buzzard for loud drawn-out screams, with which he as if begs for something, “groan”. They also resemble the meow of a cat, so in Germany the buzzard is called "cat eagle". Seeing a prey, the buzzard hovers in the air for a couple of seconds, and then falls on it. But he cannot "hang" in one place for a long time, like a kestrel.
Usually the buzzard hatches two or four chicks, and in the years of hunger for him, when there are few rodents, often only one, the strongest, survives, killing his weaker brothers.
The Upland Buzzard arrives to winter in central Russia and in the Black Sea countries from the tundra and forest-tundra (its feet are feathered up to the toes). Its main prey is lemons and other northern rodents.
LUNIE... Above the fields and meadows, flying low, raising their wings, beautiful birds, white from below, silvery-gray from above - field and steppe harriers. Their females are brown. These birds feed on mice and are also useful.
If birds fly over damp lowlands, reeds, their plumage is brown, often with ocher "caps", these are marsh harriers. The marsh harrier hunts in a very typical way: it flies at a height of only 4-5 m above the ground, when it sees its prey, it instantly falls down. It is, of course, difficult for small birds, rodents, to escape from him. In farms where ducks and muskrats are bred, the Marsh Harrier is a very unwanted guest.
OSEDERS... Wasp eaters are perhaps one of the most unusual birds of prey in Russia. Two wasps live in Russia: common and crested. The first is found in European Russia, the second - beyond Altai to Primorye and Sakhalin.
The wasp is similar to the buzzard, but the adult males have a gray “cap” on their heads. Noticing a nest of wasps or bumblebees, it will destroy it with its paws and eat the larvae. It can also swallow the Complainers attacking it. Before swallowing an insect, he bites off its sting. Outside wasp eater bites are protected by dense plumage and small hard shields on the paws. Beetles, caterpillars, other insects, spiders, worms, mice, frogs, lizards, snakes, also eats different berries.
Common wasp-eaters overwinter in Africa, fly far away - to the very south of the continent; crested winter in South Asia. They return to Russia late. Only in June (or at the end of May, if spring is early) can eggs be found in their nests. There are usually two eggs, less often three or four. The trees are already covered with foliage, so it is difficult to see the nest. It is also "decorated" with green branches. As soon as they wither, the birds bring in fresh ones. We see the same thing in many other birds of prey, for example, in eagles, which is described below. The male and female wasp-eaters together in turn incubate, together they feed the chicks. Little wasp-eaters are still quite good "diggers": they dig the nest bedding with their paws, as if they can't wait to get to the bumblebees as soon as possible.
Unfortunately for the wasp eater, its flight is a bit like that of a hawk. Exterminating hawks (which is also, as a rule, pointless and harmful to nature), for this similarity, wasp eaters are often mistakenly killed. But look at the bird's long tail: three wide, dark transverse stripes distinguish the wasp eater from all predators flying over your head.
Eagles... Eagles are eagles-like (described below), broad-winged, white-tailed, often bald and white-shouldered, large birds of prey. Their characteristic difference is their attachment to water. Nests are built by the sea, along the banks of large rivers and lakes. They hunt for fish, snatching it out of the water with their claws, and for seabirds. In some countries they are called sea eagles.
Naturalist Lenz described the following curious case: “The eagle noticed a sturgeon in the water, which he immediately attacked. But the sturgeon turned out to be too heavy, and the brave predator could not pull his prey out of the water; on the other hand, the fish was unable to drag its enemy with it deep into the depths. The sturgeon, like an arrow, flew over the very surface of the water, and an eagle sat on it with outstretched wings, so that both looked like a ship sailing in full sail. People who noticed this sight caught both of them, and then it turned out that the eagle sank its claws into the fish so deep that it could not pull them out. "
In Russia, the most common white-tailed eagle, which lives almost throughout the country. And in North America, the bald eagle is just as common. He became the national symbol of the United States, depicted on the coat of arms of this state. Americans are trying to maintain and increase the number of bald eagles.
The nests that eagles build are striking in their size. Some of them may well seat 5-6 adults. In Florida, bald eagles once built a nest almost 3 m wide and 6 m deep. It weighed 2 tons! Probably, this nest was built by several generations of birds.
White-tailed eagle.
Eagles... We will end the description of birds of prey with a story about eagles, which are often called "kings of birds." One of the differences between the birds of the eagle tribe from other predatory birds is that their legs are feathered to the very bases of their toes.
The largest eagle is the golden eagle, which has become the hero of countless legends, myths, legends, poems, which is included in the state emblems of many countries as a symbol of power and authority. The length of the bird almost reaches 1 m, and the wingspan exceeds 2 m. The golden eagle weighs from 3 to 6.5 kg.
The golden eagle lives in Europe, Asia, North America, Africa. It inhabits almost the entire territory of Russia. But everywhere now, unfortunately, there are very few of these beautiful birds left, in some places they have been exterminated. In Western Europe, where golden eagles have been counted for a long time, only a few pairs nest: in Scandinavia - about 100, in the Alps - about 150, in Bavaria (Germany) - only 7.
The reasons for the disappearance of golden eagles are different. What matters, of course, is their very slow development, low fertility. A young golden eagle becomes sexually mature at the age of 3-4 years. A small number of eggs in a clutch also does not contribute to an increase in their number: one, rarely two or three. The incubation lasts almost 40 days, and the chicks stay in the nest for a long time - up to 80 days. Human economic activities and direct extermination of birds also played a significant role.
There are many amazing things in the life of the golden eagle. For example, his unusually keen eyesight, many times superior to human. The golden eagle sees the hare at a distance of over 4 km.
The food of the golden eagle is hares, wood grouses, marmots, foxes, geese. He straightens out with chamois, young deer, and a hunting golden eagle - even with wolves. Previously, the golden eagle was "suspected" of exterminating reindeer calves. But zoologists have established that he is only picking up the fallen deer.
Golden eagles often hunt in pairs: male and female are inseparable for years. Very attached to the old nesting grounds. Like many other eagles, the golden eagle builds huge nests. Not one centner of branches goes to their construction. The nests of golden eagles, which have been built for decades, weigh over a ton! One of them, which has been used for 45 years, has reached a depth of 4.5 m. Moreover, a pair of golden eagles have several nests - in one they incubate two (rarely three) eggs, then in the other (the next year). They do this, probably, in order to get rid of fleas and other parasites, which are many in bird nests.
As for eagles' nests in general, it should be noted that they (we see the same in buzzards, wasp eaters) are decorated with green branches of coniferous or deciduous trees. Disguise? Scientists believe that this is not always the case. Apparently, such a marriage ritual is also important here: greenery is a sign of greeting, a kind of wedding offering that stimulates the nest-building zeal of feathered spouses. Spotted eagles are forest birds, but if they happen to nest on slopes in the steppe, where there are no trees nearby, they fly far to bring a pine branch and stick it into the nest. Steppe eagles, which have long lost the memory of forests and green branches, do not fly after greenery. But they apparently had something like a "substitution reaction", as zoologists who study animal behavior say: replacing branches with various other objects that are easy to find in the steppe - bones, rags, even dried animal droppings.
Another eagle found in Russia (in its steppe zone), the steppe eagle, is significantly inferior to the golden eagle in size. Its weight is about 3 kg.
“Steppe eagles are gophers. They have mastered the original method of fishing, in which only beginners fail. He knows that the gopher has only one entrance and exit in each hole. He lies down a little further from the entrance and waits patiently. From the side - not a bird, but a dark brown wild stone that has grown into the ground. The gopher does not have enough patience and intelligence to recognize his death in a motionless boulder. And, carefully looking around, he gets out to continue the interrupted lesson. He will no longer have a second meeting with the eagle. The sudden revival of the “stone”, which grows almost fourfold, momentarily paralyzes the will of the victim, and the eagle runs no worse than a dog ... ”This is how the ornithologist Leonid Semago described the habits of the steppe eagle.
Snake eagles do eat snakes, even large and venomous ones. Their paws are protected by thick horny shields: if a snake bites, it breaks off its teeth. They tear the snakes with claws, beaks,
PREDATOR BIRDS:
1. Harpy chases the simiri monkey.
2. The peregrine falcon rushes to the shirokonoski drake.
3. Black kite. 4. The bearded man. 5. Serpentine.
6. Field Harrier. 7. Wasp eater. 8. California Condor.
Mating flight of birds of prey.
they jump, soaring upward, attack again, until they exhaust the reptile so that it cannot even bite. Snake eaters also hunt other animals, but snakes and lizards are preferred to all others. These birds live in Africa and South Asia, one species is found in the south of Russia.
The buffoon-eagle, or the buffoon, so nicknamed for the virtuoso mating flight, is one of the snake-eaters. He prefers savannah and steppe dense forests. Tokuya writes such pirouettes in the sky, as if showing circus numbers. Tumbles no worse than a Thurman pigeon: "loops", sharp turns, "barrels" and other aerobatics "performs". Flaps its wings loudly, making a loud noise.
This eagle makes a nest decorated with greenery on a tree, usually at the edge of a clearing or path. The only egg, rather large, is incubated by the female, and the male feeds her. It brings to her, and later to the chicks, many different snakes: small - in the goiter, large - in the beak. Like a long mustache, a snake intercepted in half dangles under the head of a flying eagle.
THE USE OF PREDATORS
Birds of prey are of great benefit to nature and man. Their main merit is that they destroy the weak and sick animals, making the populations of their victims healthier. A predator always prefers to attack something that stands out, he is attracted by everything unusual, not only behavioral features, but also color. In the course of one study, scientists found that the goshawk prefers to hunt birds of an unusual color: in areas where doves predominated, it looked for whites, and vice versa. And which individual is most often distinguished by its behavior among others? Sick or injured. Predators destroy wounded animals, correcting the flaws of inept hunters.
In Transbaikalia, scientists conducted a study trying to find the causative agent of the plague (see article "Bacteria") in marmots. Caught more than 20 thousand rodents - to no avail. However, after studying the remains of less than 200 marmots near the nests of birds of prey, in three cases they found the causative agent of the plague!
SCOPE IN SCOTLAND
Since 1958 Osprey began to nest in Scotland - the only pair of these birds in the whole territory of Great Britain. The nesting area was not only taken under the most careful protection, but, in addition, a special observation post was equipped, from where more than 25 thousand people admired the life of a rare predator for 8 years.
BIRD HUNTING
Hunting with birds of prey originated in the mists of time, more than 2800 years ago, in the East. The essence of this hunt is that the game is hunted not by the hunter himself, but by a tamed feathered predator.
In the Middle Ages, Europeans adopted this method of hunting from the Arabs during the first crusades. Many crowned persons soon became passionate admirers of this entertainment. Whole books have been written on this topic. One, entitled "On the Art of Hunting with Birds," was written in the thirteenth century. But its author was not a scientist, but ... Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (who is described in the article "Frederick II Hohenstaufen" in Volume I of the Encyclopedia - "World History").
In the XVII century. the passion for hunting with birds of prey reached, perhaps, the greatest flourishing. The Shah of Persia, for example, kept 800 falcons for hunting with a whole army of mounted falconers, grooms and other servants. Some birds were trained to hunt geese, others to hunt foxes, still others to hunt wild boars, etc.
In Russia, the history of hunting with birds of prey dates back to the times of Kievan Rus, at least to the 10th century. Such a hunt especially flourished during the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. This memory was preserved in the name of Sokolniki Park in Moscow - until the 17th century. a protected forest area was located here, where the royal falconry was carried out.
In the XVIII century. hunting firearms became widespread, and hunting with birds of prey gradually began to be forgotten.
But in the heyday of hunting, and even later, when it became a rarity, birds of prey were very expensive. Once the Duke of Burgundy ransomed his son from the Turks from captivity ... for 12 white gyrfalcones. Already at the beginning of the XX century. in Turkmenistan, a hunting Saker Falcon cost the same as a camel with a saddle, and a golden eagle in Kyrgyzstan was estimated as 3-4 good horses.
The history of hunting with birds of prey has been going on for thousands of years, but during this time they did not become domesticated, did not begin to breed in captivity. New birds of prey were hunted in nature. In Russia, the masters of catching them were called scammers. Artels of Russian scavengers, led by atamans, set out to hunt gyrfalcon in the polar forest-tundra. They were also mined in Iceland, in the north of Scandinavia. The first reserve in Russia was created by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on the Kola Peninsula to protect gyrfalcons.
It was also not possible to turn the birds of prey into "loyal servants". For example, they never bring prey to the owner. Training a bird of prey is a whole science.
At first, the bird was taught to sit on the hunter's hand and receive food there. To do this, it was either launched into a room flooded with water, where the bird had nowhere to sit, except on the hand of a person. Or they tamed it "from holding": they put a hood (leather cap) on the bird's head, covering its eyes, and did not take it off for a day. Then they put the bird on a man's hand, took off the hood and fed it with meat. If the bird refused to eat, everything was repeated from the beginning (sometimes up to 5 times).
Then the bird was taught to fly onto a person's hand from the back of a chair to get food; take off from the ground onto the hand of an equestrian hunter. Finally, people taught her to fly from afar, waving a bait (lure) - a stuffed board and a pair of pigeon wings.
To protect the hand from the sharp claws of the bird, the hunter put on (in Europe on the right hand, in the East - on the left) a thick leather mitten. It is difficult to carry such a large bird as a golden eagle on the arm, therefore in Central Asia hunters with golden eagles rest their hand on a special support attached to the saddle.
To make it easier to find a hunting bird on a hunt, when it did not fly back, silver or copper bells were tied to its legs, the ringing of which could be heard from hundreds of meters away. Silk cords (putz) were tied to the bird's feet, for which it was possible to hold it. A meter strap stretched from the putso to the hunter's glove.
Learning to hunt begins with the fact that the bird is offered a dead pigeon, tossing it into the air. The predator is then trained on birds with clipped wings. Finally, having found medium-sized game in nature, the hood, previously put on before hunting, is removed from the hunting bird and lowered to prey.
Hunting birds are taught to hunt strong animals, letting them first hunt cubs or old and weak individuals. The golden eagle is trained on gophers, then on foxes, and only after that is set on a wolf.
Professor G.P. Dementyev wrote: “An experienced“ berkutchi ”(a hunter with a golden eagle) can catch 30-40, and sometimes 50-60 foxes in a season. A good goshaw in the hands of an experienced hunter can catch several pheasants, and a sparrowhawk - 50-60 quails per day of hunting ”.
Falcons and goshawks serve 3-4 years, but in good hands they served much longer and lived up to 25 years. Golden eagles also live for the same number of years.
The indefatigability and perseverance of the bird were especially appreciated; how long, if it fails, it does not stop attacking its prey. The number of throws (in a hunting way - bets) on strong prey for a good hunting gyrfalcon usually reached 15-20. And the best gyrfalcons made up to 70 bets and drove their prey for many kilometers.
PREDATORS - AERODROME GUARDS
Collisions of birds with planes occur quite often - in Europe, for example, on average three times a day. For birds, such collisions always end tragically, but they can lead to the most unpleasant consequences for aircraft: at least the need for repairs. Most often, such "meetings" take place near airfields, during takeoff or landing of aircraft.
Perhaps the most effective method of scaring birds away from airfields is the use of birds of prey. Specially trained falcons and hawks force other birds that interfere with flights (crows, seagulls, etc.) to avoid airfields.
For the full cycle of life on our planet, the presence of birds - predators in nature is an obvious necessity.
Different species of birds have a natural habit of hunting large prey. Among them: hawks, representatives of eagle and falcon orders, gulls, owls and others. The unifying criteria for these species are:
- the role played in the natural chain;
- way of eating;
- lifestyle (time of day at which the bird starts hunting).
Birds of prey
According to systematization from the point of view of zoology, only falconifers belong to the orders of diurnal birds of prey, these are falcons themselves, hawks, eagles, buzzards, eagles, harriers.
It is noteworthy that truly birds of prey have the same menacing and dangerous appearance: the beak is bent like a hook, and their claws are crooked and very sharp. The coloration of females and males is almost identical, but females are larger in size.
Upland Buzzard
Another name is Rough-legged Buzzard. This bird is considered the most famous predator among the tundra forests. She builds her nests on the territory of the entire Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug... The food of this predatory species is made up of mice - voles and lemmings. It is characteristic that the number of buzzards directly depends on the sufficient population of the area with these rodents. Scientists - ornithologists argue that in the conditions of one area, buzzards may be present in abundance, or they may not be present at all.
Outward signs of the Upland Buzzard:
- the Rough-legged Buzzard is a large bird in size;
- has wide wings (this visually makes it even larger);
- general color - light, slightly “red”;
- on the belly and under the wings of the predator, black spots are localized, different in shape (they can form an individual plumage pattern).
Buzzards nest in woody areas, and they line the nests with grass. If we are talking about the tundra, then in these areas birds are usually located on cliffs and hills. In the case of a fruitful year for mice, the nest of the Rough-legged Buzzard can also be found on flat terrain, in swamps, in the lowlands of rivers.
Buzzards are migratory birds that migrate from warm areas in early spring. After the flight, they begin to build their nests. Upline Buzzard Egg Size larger in size than chicken eggs, rounder in shape, spotty and white in color. The richer the year for prey, the more eggs in the clutch of this bird of prey. The principle of natural selection plays a significant role in the survival of chicks, especially when there is not enough food, due to the poor harvest for rodents. Many chicks do not even have the opportunity to live to the "flight" age, they are simply eaten by older and stronger chicks.
Buzzards zealously defend their nests. Attacks on humans are unlikely, more often birds just scream loudly or rush at a person. But they fearlessly fight off arctic foxes or dogs, using strong claws. It happens that the Rough-legged Buzzard feeds on dead deer carcasses and their entrails, or on rotten fish.
With the arrival of the autumn period, and during its duration, these predators fly away to the areas of the middle lane.
White tailed eagle
It is one of the largest and largest birds of prey in Russia. His wingspan exceeds two meters, and the weight of the bird sometimes reaches seven kilograms. The owners of a pure white tail are mainly adults, whose age is more than three years, in the rest it is dark. Often a young eagle can be mistaken for a golden eagle. However, the tail of the golden eagle is slightly rounded, while in the white-tailed it has the shape of a sharp wedge.
White-tailed eagles nest almost throughout the country, they only avoid the extreme northern areas and dehydrated areas. They arrange their nests only in the crowns of trees, more often deciduous ones. Very rarely, the "eagle house" is located on steep cliffs.
White-tails feed on fish and birds swimming in the water. This explains their desire to live near areas rich in water bodies. Every year their dwelling is located in the same place, has a very massive, layered structure up to a meter in height. On the open tundra expanses, the eagle's nest is extremely rare, more often it localized on hills or cliffs.
During early spring, eagles already arrive from the south. The flight is carried out in pairs that are notable for constancy. Females lay from one to three eggs in the newly inhabited nest. The eggs are white with spots, similar in size to those of a goose, but somewhat smaller. After the first egg has been laid, the female eagles begin to hatch. Chicks emerge from the egg around the first half of June. Their growth is very rapid, plumage is fast.
In early August, the chicks fly out of the nest, however, they are under the supervision of their parents for a long time. White-tails keep their way to the southern edges in early autumn.
White-tailed eagles feed on wild birds: geese, ducks, loons; also their diet consists of hares, large fish species, rodents. Moreover, these birds of prey are lovers of carrion, or they hunt animals that are injured or sick and cannot resist.
White-tailed eagles are rare, valuable birds, they are listed in the Red Book of both our country and the international one. The eagle often falls prey to hunters - poachers, which is very sad for nature and scientists.
Osprey
These birds of prey are small in number, are considered rare, and are listed on the pages of our Red Book.
Species characteristics:
- large size;
- contrasting color: white-yellow underside of the body; dark stripe running across the bird's craw; from above, the body, tail and wings are dark in color; there are wide black stripes on the head;
- yellow eye color;
- in conditions of heightened anxiety, these birds emit peculiar sounds.
The habitat of these predators is the territory of the whole world, with the exception of the extreme northern regions. They hibernate in the African and South Asian tropics.
Osprey are chosen to provide the necessary living conditions, areas with clear waters rich in fish... They nest in tall trees with dry tops, far from crowded places. Birds do not change their nests, returning to them annually. Osprey clutch contains up to four eggs maximum, usually two or three. The eggs are dark in color, with purple spots of various localization.
Chicks live in the nest for about two months without leaving it. They become sexually mature when they reach the age of two.
The peculiarities of hunting of these birds of prey are that, flying high above the water surface, they hunt down their main food - fish. Having spotted the victim, the osprey dives forward with its paws, and then takes off sharply, catching the victim. This bird disdains carrion, if hunger begins to exhaust, then the predator can arrange a hunt for ducks or mice.
Osprey goes to winter from September to October.
The number of this species is inexorably decreasing, this is due to the direct extermination of predators, unfavorable ecology, and deforestation. All this makes it impossible for birds to nest safely.
Goshawk (hawk)
The size of a bird is larger than a crow, weight up to one and a half kilograms.
Specific traits:
- clear stripes running across the underside of the bird's body;
- dark gray upper body;
- the eyes are very bright, yellow;
- young goshaws are colored red or brown.
Birds of this species were persecuted for a very long time due to the fact that they were considered predators, bringing special harm. As a result, their numbers fell, and now they are protected by law.
Hawks - goshaws feed on medium-sized fish and small animals such as rabbits, squirrels, and so on. They hunt dying animals that are doomed and weakened by illness or injury. Thanks to this, predators are ranked among forest orderlies.
Goshawk distribution zone - north of the forest-tundra... They hibernate either where they nest, or fly away to where it is warmer.
Field harrier
It is a bird that lives, more often, in open spaces - forest-tundra zones, forest-steppe and taiga belts. The main habitat is the abundance of small rodents.
Harrier is about the size of a crow, but with a longer tail and slender body. The colors of the male and female are different.
Features of the male color:
- a white body with an ash coating on top;
- at the ends of the wings there are black streaks.
Female color:
- the body is reddish with gray;
- the lumbar region is white.
Field Harriers build their nests on the surface of the earth. Clutch contains from three to five white, slightly spotted, eggs. They are smaller than chicken eggs, the most round.
The harrier is a migratory bird. It hunts, flying not very high above the ground.
Peregrine falcon
The most famous falcon. It is a rare and valuable bird breed. Unfortunately, poachers are especially fond of catching these particular predators, as a result of which their fate is extremely sad. Peregrine Falcons are practically exterminated, they are very rare even in uninhabited areas.
In the United States, for the sake of restoring the number of these birds, their kept in specialized enclosures... Peregrine falcon chicks are raised and then released to free latitudes. However, even taking into account the usefulness and importance of these activities, it should be said that they are very costly in material terms. Falcons set free are of great monetary value.
The peculiarity and pride of the peregrine falcon are clear, piercing black eyes, over which black eyebrows loom. No wonder in Russia the heroes were often called "clear falcons".
Within the Yamal territory, the falcon population is no more than two hundred pairs of these birds of prey. The most falcon-populated part of Russia is the West Siberian tundra area, where the situation with predators is quite stable.
External characteristics of the peregrine falcon:
The falcon, by right, is ranked among the fastest living creatures on the planet, and even among birds it has no equal. He hunts, attacking the victim from above, in a steep "dive". Small birds, peregrine falcon grabs with strong paws, and larger ones, at speed it knocks down with sharp claws on its hind fingers. Then the ravenous falcon, on the fly, grabs the falling prey.
Peregrine falcons often bring their prey from places far from the nest. Previously, it was believed that they did not hunt near their nests, however, observations showed the opposite. There are frequent cases of a falcon hunting near a nesting female.
Predators of this species very zealously and aggressively defend their nest. Noticing the danger, the peregrine falcon raises a frantic cry, and, diving, attacks the intruder. A little later, the female also joins the male. Falcons also attack people, but with the aim of simply scaring them without touching them.
The peregrine falcon is a sophisticated hunter. Among its victims, one can identify entire collections of the rarest birds, the existence of which even ornithologists do not always know.
Falcons nest, choosing a variety of places for this. It can be rocks, alien, abandoned nests, even hollows of trees or just plain land. An important condition for nesting is the ability to have a good view of the area. The number of clutches is from three to five eggs. They are similar in size to chicken.
Tellingly, the grown chicks do not eat small falcons, in contrast to the Rough-legged Buzzards. This is considered a noble feature of this bird species. However, it is fair to say that their number does not at all depend on the harvest for rodents, which means that the peregrine falcon with chicks will not die of hunger for sure.
Falcons are migratory, not flocking birds leading a solitary lifestyle. One pair of peregrine falcons builds a nest far from the other. The pairs are permanent, stable. However, their nests are always in the same place. Predators arrive at the beginning of spring, and leave at about the same time as other birds.
Derbnik
It is considered the smallest falcon in size. The Nesting Territory of this predator is vast, but merlin avoid too northern areas. This type of predator is quite rare.
The type of food of merlins is small birds caught and captured on the fly. They arrange their nests mainly in trees, in abandoned crow's nests. The number of hatched eggs is up to five pieces. Both females and males act as brooders, but the former are more involved.
It is noteworthy that the merlin is about the size of a pigeon. But at the same time it is a worthy predator in the tundra and its forests. This bird is protected by law.
Owls are nocturnal predators. These are well-known birds that have been repeatedly mentioned in children's fairy tales.
Features of the appearance of an owl:
Owls exterminate various rodents, while bringing great benefits to people. Therefore, they are protected by law from poachers and simply those who like to make fun of living beings.
Snowy owl (or white)
A very colorful nocturnal predator that lives in the steppes and forests of the tundra. Hunting voles, partridges, hamsters - lemmings... Sometimes they catch hares and even polar foxes and ermines.
Small peoples of the north often used owl meat for food, for this purpose they hunted for it.
Short-eared owl
It is inferior in size to the polar one. It also feeds on rodents and lives in tundra areas. There were times when a short-eared owl was seen over the sea.
There are also other types of owls, for example: Lapland, hawk, eagle owl.
It is noteworthy that the tawny owl is a daytime predator, even somewhat similar to a falcon.
Eagle owls are the largest birds of the owl order. They have ears on the head, the color is variegated with red. An eagle owl can attack a buzzard or a hawk, but mainly its food consists of rodents and small animals.
In the north, the owl can hunt during the day.
