Order FALCONIFORMES | Family ACCIPITRIDAE |
Aquila nipalensis Hodgson,1833 Steppe Eagle Races:
Common breeding migrant. Inhabits arid steppes, semi-deserts and northern deserts with rocky outcrops, low xerophytic mountains and foothills of high ridges, where rodents live. In mountains nests up to 2000 m. Appears March or early April; in the springs of 1951-52 a strong migration was noticed north of Aral Sea. Latest migrants observed at Chokpak Pass mid-May. Breeds in separate pairs, 0.5-1.5 km apart from each other. Nest is built on small hills, amongst shrubby patches on ground, on rocks or on separate trees from dry twigs lined with grass, rags, horse droppings, and used for some years. Clutches of 1-3 eggs in April – early May. Juveniles hatch from end May. Both parents feed them and they fledge around 60 days old from end June – early August. Autumn migration begins from end August; they leave mainly in September. A strong migration was noticed more north-westerly from Emba river area and Mugodzhary mountains through Ustyurt plateau (Varshavskiy 1957). At Chokpak Pass peak migration in October, when scattered flocks of several dozen birds not unusual, and several hundreds can be seen in one day. In 2004 one nipalensis caught 20 September and one orientalis 1 October. Last birds observed here end November.
Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005
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Synonyms
Description
Races
Widespread nesting. Breeds north up to Uralsk, Naurzum steppes, Tengiz-Kurgaldzhinskaya depression, Krasnokutsk village in Pavlodar area adjacent to Irtysh river, Semipalatinsk area and Kalbinskiy Alai; east to Zaysan depression, foothills of Tarbagatay ridge, Dzhungarskiy Alatau and Syugaty valley, where appears only in recent decade. In eastern Kazakhstan intergrades with nipalensis. Vagrants met to the north, at Markakol’ lake 8 June 1876. Accident winters in Aksu-Dzhabagly Nature Reserve at 1991/92 and on Chardara lake, where three birds recorded 18-21 December 2003.
References