Eastern imperial eagle

This species breeds in Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and China. Winters in the Nile Valley, the Arabian Peninsula, India, South and East Asia. Some of the birds in Europe winter in Greece and Turkey, and in milder winters in Bulgaria. In Bulgaria the species а breeding summer visitor, passage migrant and partly wintering species. It is registered in several districts – Srednogorie, Rodopi and Srednotundzhansko valley.

In Bulgaria, the Eastern imperial eagle reaches a body length of 77 cm and a wingspan of 200 cm. In adults, the plumage is dark brown with large white spots on the shoulders, head and back of the neck are pale yellow to white and the tail is long and gray-brown. In juveniles, the body above and the covering feathers of the wings are light brown, and the wings are black with a white stripe, and below they are light brown. The breeding period starts in March with the strengthening of the old nest or the building of new nests, with synchronous flights of the pair. In the first half of April, it lays 2 eggs, rarely 1 or 3-4. The young ones fly away from the nests at the end of July and the beginning of August. Hamsters are a major component of the food. They prefer mostly margins of deciduous and coniferous forests, meadows of pastures, as always near running water. They also inhabit meadow, pastures and arable land with single trees. Most often they nest in tree crowns (hybrid poplars). These species make long-distance migration.

Unknown.

The species is included in the Red Book of Bulgaria with the category “Critically Endangered” (CR), as well as in Annexes 2 and 3 of the Biodiversity Act (BDA). The Eastern imperial eagle is listed in Annex I to Directive 2009/147/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds. It is included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with the category “Vulnerable” (VU). The Eastern imperial eagle is also present in Annex I of the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

*Note: For the description of birds is used information from: Golemanski, V. & al. (eds). 2015. Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria. Vol. 2. Animals. BAS & MoEW, Sofia [English ed.: ISBN 978-954-9746-22-8 (IBER – BAS), 978-954-8497-18-3 (MoEW)]; Michev T., D. Simeonov, L. Profirov. 2012. Birds of the Balkan Peninsula. Ecotan, Sofia, 300 pp; the website of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).