Steppe eagle
This eagle lives at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary at Stonham Barns, Stonham Aspal.
The steppe eagle is probably the most numerous eagle of it's size in the world. It is a large, bulky and robust looking eagle, mainly dark brown in colour with a longish but very thick neck and a relatively small head that nonetheless features a strong bill and long gape-line. It appears long winged and has a longish and rather rounded tail and markedly well feathered legs.
The bird's total length can range from 24 to 35 in. (60 to 89 cm) in fully grown adults. Wingspan of this species is very variable, with the smallest steppe eagles spanning as little as 65 to 69 in. (165 to 174 cm) while the largest ones can reportedly span up to 98 to 103 in. (250 to 262 cm). Eagles weighed in Russia were found to scale from 40 to 56 oz. (2.5 to 3.5 kg) in males while in females weights were reported to range from 37 to 78.5 oz. (2.3 to 4.9 kg).
They inhabit semi-arid open planes spending the summer on the Russian and Mongolian Steeps and the winter in India and Africa. Autumn migration often begins around October and usually ends in late November to early December. Spring migration usually commences in February and continuing in a diminishing trickle into April and May.
Steeps eagles can sore at great heights looking for prey but are more commonly seen at 150 to 660 ft. (45.75 to 200 m).
Steppe eagles mainly hunts in a low soaring or gliding flight, diving or making short, accelerated stoops onto their prey. They will also scavenge on the ground. The steppe eagle is an opportunistic predator preying mainly on small sized mammals, some birds, reptiles, insects such as termites and locusts and carrion. Although they actively hunt for prey, steeps eagles are rather lazy and will steel food from other birds by diving at them until they drop their prey.
The nest of this bird is around 28 to 39 in. (70 to 100 cm) in diameter and around 8 to 19.75 in. (20 to 50 cm) deep. They are traditionally place in an exposed site among stones, often on small knolls. Other nesting sites can include very low bushes and a raised spot on the ground. The clutch size is from 1 to 3, usually 2, sometimes very rarely as many as 4 or 5 eggs. The incubation lasts around 45 days, hatching is often sometime in May, but can continue to early June. The fledging of the young eagles occurs relatively quickly at somewhere between 55 and 65 days, due probably to the vulnerability of the nest sites. Steeps eagles have one of the worst success rates of raising young of any bird of prey, with an average of only 3 in 11 surviving.
The conservation status of the steep eagle is 'Endangered' due to, amongst other things, interference from man, poisoning of their prey, nests destroyed by steppe fires or trampling by cattle, the increase of blackfly caused by temperature rise that kill nestlings, collisions with powerlines and electrocution.
Steppe eagle
This eagle lives at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary at Stonham Barns, Stonham Aspal.
The steppe eagle is probably the most numerous eagle of it's size in the world. It is a large, bulky and robust looking eagle, mainly dark brown in colour with a longish but very thick neck and a relatively small head that nonetheless features a strong bill and long gape-line. It appears long winged and has a longish and rather rounded tail and markedly well feathered legs.
The bird's total length can range from 24 to 35 in. (60 to 89 cm) in fully grown adults. Wingspan of this species is very variable, with the smallest steppe eagles spanning as little as 65 to 69 in. (165 to 174 cm) while the largest ones can reportedly span up to 98 to 103 in. (250 to 262 cm). Eagles weighed in Russia were found to scale from 40 to 56 oz. (2.5 to 3.5 kg) in males while in females weights were reported to range from 37 to 78.5 oz. (2.3 to 4.9 kg).
They inhabit semi-arid open planes spending the summer on the Russian and Mongolian Steeps and the winter in India and Africa. Autumn migration often begins around October and usually ends in late November to early December. Spring migration usually commences in February and continuing in a diminishing trickle into April and May.
Steeps eagles can sore at great heights looking for prey but are more commonly seen at 150 to 660 ft. (45.75 to 200 m).
Steppe eagles mainly hunts in a low soaring or gliding flight, diving or making short, accelerated stoops onto their prey. They will also scavenge on the ground. The steppe eagle is an opportunistic predator preying mainly on small sized mammals, some birds, reptiles, insects such as termites and locusts and carrion. Although they actively hunt for prey, steeps eagles are rather lazy and will steel food from other birds by diving at them until they drop their prey.
The nest of this bird is around 28 to 39 in. (70 to 100 cm) in diameter and around 8 to 19.75 in. (20 to 50 cm) deep. They are traditionally place in an exposed site among stones, often on small knolls. Other nesting sites can include very low bushes and a raised spot on the ground. The clutch size is from 1 to 3, usually 2, sometimes very rarely as many as 4 or 5 eggs. The incubation lasts around 45 days, hatching is often sometime in May, but can continue to early June. The fledging of the young eagles occurs relatively quickly at somewhere between 55 and 65 days, due probably to the vulnerability of the nest sites. Steeps eagles have one of the worst success rates of raising young of any bird of prey, with an average of only 3 in 11 surviving.
The conservation status of the steep eagle is 'Endangered' due to, amongst other things, interference from man, poisoning of their prey, nests destroyed by steppe fires or trampling by cattle, the increase of blackfly caused by temperature rise that kill nestlings, collisions with powerlines and electrocution.