There is probably no more respected and popular bird than the eagle among people. It's hard not to respect a powerful creature that can hover for hours on unattainable peaks, controlling the situation in its habitat or looking out for prey.
The eagle does not depend on other creatures, which our ancestors noticed long ago. Other representatives of the animal world, when a winged predator appears in the sky, immediately strive to hide in the nearest inaccessible place - the power of the eagle is such that it is able to drag off prey, the weight of which is a couple of times greater than its own.
However, respect for a person is a thankless thing, and it ends exactly where an easy income looms on the horizon. While there were a lot of eagles, they were hunted with enthusiasm in all available ways - a stuffed eagle was an adornment of any respectable office, and not every zoo could boast of a live eagle - they did not know what and how to feed them, so the eagles had to be often changed due to natural decline ... Then the profits ceased to be calculated in measly tens of dollars - the industrial revolution began. Orlov was fenced off with clearings, railways, and power lines. At the same time, external respect for the kings of birds was preserved, because the great ancients bequeathed this respect to us ...
It is only in recent decades that efforts to conserve eagle populations (from the death penalty for killing an eagle in the Philippines to a six-month arrest in the United States) have begun to stabilize and increase the number of these noble birds. Perhaps, in a couple of decades, people who are not related to ornithology will be able to observe the habits of eagles in natural conditions, without making a thousand-kilometer travel to remote areas.
1. The classification of eagles until recently included more than 60 species of these birds. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, molecular studies of eagles' DNA were carried out in Germany, which showed that the classification requires serious processing. Therefore, today eagles are conventionally combined into 16 species.
2. The slowness of the soaring eagle is apparent. In fact, while soaring, eagles move at a speed of about 200 km / h. And these birds seem slow because of the flight altitude - eagles are able to climb up to 9 km. At the same time, they perfectly see everything that happens on the ground and are able to focus their vision on two objects at the same time. An additional transparent eyelid protects the eyes of the eagles from powerful winds and sunlight. Diving for possible prey, the eagles reach speeds of 350 km / h.
3. This, of course, sounds somewhat comical, but the golden eagle is considered the largest eagle. In fact, there is no contradiction here. The name "golden eagle" appeared thousands of years ago, and this large bird of prey is called with similar words in various countries, from Kazakhstan and Central Asia to Wales. Thus, when Karl Linnaeus was able to describe the golden eagle in the middle of the 18th century, and it turned out that this bird and the eagles belong to the same family Aquila, the name of a large predator was already firmly rooted in various peoples.
4. The lifestyle of golden eagles is stable and predictable. Until about 3-4 years old, young people make serious travels, sometimes roaming hundreds of kilometers. Having “walked for a walk”, golden eagles form a stable family, occupying a relatively small territory. In the range of one pair, none of the possible competitors, including other golden eagles, will do well. Females are usually much larger than males - if males weigh a maximum of 5 kg, then females can grow up to 7 kg. This, however, is typical for most species of eagles. The wingspan of golden eagles exceeds 2 meters. Excellent vision, powerful paws and beak allow golden eagles to successfully hunt large prey, which often exceeds the weight of the predator. Golden eagles easily cope with wolves, foxes, deer and large birds.
5. Despite the fact that the size of the eagles is distinguished in the kingdom of birds, only the Kaffir eagle, living in the Middle East and Africa, falls into the ten largest birds, and even then only in its second half. The first places were occupied by eagles, vultures and golden eagles, which are counted separately from the eagles.
Kaffir eagle
6. The brutality of natural selection is demonstrated by a species of eagles called spotted eagles. The female spotted eagle usually lays two eggs, while the chicks do not hatch at the same time - the second is usually removed from the egg 9 weeks later than the first. He is, as it were, a safety net in the event of the death of an older brother. Therefore, the firstborn, if everything is in order with him, simply slaughters the youngest and throws him out of the nest.
7. The bird on the US State Seal looks like an eagle, but in fact it is akin to eagles (all of them are members of the hawk family). Moreover, they chose the eagle quite deliberately - by the time the independence of the American colonies was proclaimed, the eagle was too popular in the state symbols of other countries. Here are the authors of the press and decided to be original. It is difficult to distinguish an eagle from an eagle in appearance. The main difference is in the way of eating. Eagles give preference to fish, therefore they settle on rocks and the banks of water bodies.
8. The eagle-burial ground is so named not at all because of the addiction to the contents of the graves. These birds are found in the steppe or desert regions, where natural elevations suitable for observing potential prey are very tight. Therefore, people have long observed eagles sitting on burial mounds or adobe mausoleums. However, before being studied by biologists, these birds were simply called eagles. Not too biased name was invented to distinguish between species. Now the bird is proposed to be renamed the imperial or sun eagle. Although some scientists believe that the name "burial ground" reflects the behavior of this species - the birds seem to bury their dead relatives in the ground.
The burial eagle looks at the ground from a height
9. In almost all countries of South and Southeast Asia, the egg-eating eagle is found. Despite its impressive size (body length up to 80 cm, wingspan up to 1.5 m), this eagle prefers to feed not on game, but on the eggs of other birds. Moreover, the carrying capacity of the egg-eater allows it not to waste time on trifles, but to drag off the nests entirely, together with eggs and already hatched chicks.
10. The pygmy eagle is inferior in size to other types of eagles, but, nevertheless, it is a rather large bird - the body length of an average bird of this species is about half a meter, and the wingspan is more than a meter. Unlike most other eagles, pygmy eagles migrate, moving with the onset of cold weather to warm regions.
11. Eagles build very large nests. Even in relatively small species, the diameter of the nest exceeds 1 meter; in large individuals, the nest may be 2.5 meters in diameter. In addition, “Eagle's Nest” is a dish of chicken breast, tomatoes and potatoes and a residence that was erected in the Bavarian Alps for Eva Braun on the orders of Adolf Hitler. And the Eagle's Nest Trail is a popular tourist route in Poland. Castles and caves play the role of the missing eagle's nests.
The eagle's nest can be impressive in size
12. In almost all ancient cults and religions, the eagle was either a symbol of the sun, or a sign of worship of a luminary. The exceptions are the ancient Romans, who, even with the eagle, all closed on Jupiter and lightning. Accordingly, more mundane omens were born - an eagle flying high predicted good luck and the protection of the gods. And the low-flying eagle still has to be contrived to see ...
13. The double-headed eagle first became one of the heraldic symbols of Russia at the end of the 15th century during the reign of Grand Duke Ivan III (he, like the next Russian ruler by number, was also called “Terrible”). The Grand Duke was married to the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Sophia Palaeologus, and the two-headed eagle was a symbol of Byzantium. Most likely, Ivan III had to work hard to convince the boyars to accept the new symbol - their rejection of any changes continued for another 200 years, until Peter I began to alternately chop off heads and beards. Nevertheless, the two-headed eagle has become one of the full-fledged symbols of the Russian state. In 1882, the image of a two-headed eagle with many additions became the official coat of arms of the Russian Empire. Since 1993, the image of an eagle on a red field has been the official coat of arms of the Russian Federation.
Coat of arms of the Russian Empire (1882)
Coat of arms of the Russian Federation (1993)
14. The eagle is the central figure on the coats of arms of 26 independent states and a number of provinces (including 5 Russian regions) and dependent territories. And the tradition of using the image of an eagle in heraldry dates back to the times of the Hittite kingdom (II millennium BC).
15. Some eagles, contrary to popular belief, are capable of breeding in captivity. Experts from the Moscow Zoo say that the eagles kept in the main exposition of the zoo could not hatch eggs only because of competition with other birds of prey kept in the same enclosure. When only eagles were left in the aviary, they began to breed. In particular, on May 20, 2018, a chick was born at the zoo, which was named “Igor Akinfeev” on the eve of the World Cup. It is difficult to say whether the goalkeeper of the Russian national team knew about this honor, but in the success of the team at the home world championship, he really played the role of a fearless eagle.
16. In the Dutch police there was a unit armed with eagles, in addition to the usual police belongings. Dutch cops wanted to use birds to fight drones. It was assumed that for the eagles, drones were supposed to be unprecedented birds, brazenly invading their living space and therefore subject to destruction. It only remained to teach the birds to attack drones so as not to hurt themselves on the propellers. After a year of training, demonstrations and video presentations, it was concluded that the eagles cannot be made to do the work for which they were intended.
Everything looked great at the presentations of the law enforcement eagles.
17. The word "Eagle" is widely used in toponymy. In Russia, the regional center is named Orel. According to a semi-official legend, the messengers of Ivan the Terrible, who arrived to found the city, first of all cut down a century-old oak tree, disturbing the nest of an eagle that ruled over the surrounding area. The owner flew away, and left the name of the future city. In addition to the city, settlements, railway stations, villages and farms are named after the royal bird. The word can also be found on the maps of Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus. The English version of the name “Eagle” and its derivative place names are also popular, especially in the United States. Warships and other vehicles are often referred to as "eagles".
18. The eagle is an important part of the Prometheus myth. When Hephaestus, on the orders of Zeus, chained Prometheus to a rock as punishment for the stolen fire, it was a special eagle for (according to some legends) 30,000 years that daily pecked out constantly growing liver from Prometheus. Not the most popular detail of the Prometheus myth is the punishment of people who took the first fire - for this Zeus endowed them with the first woman, Pandora, who released fear, sorrow and suffering into the world.
19. Almost everywhere in the world, eagles are on the verge of extinction. But if most of the species of animals and birds disappeared and disappear from the face of the earth due to the direct influence of man, then in the last couple of centuries people have been indirectly influencing the disappearance of eagles. Like any large predator, an eagle needs a territory of serious size to survive. Any deforestation, road construction, or power transmission lines will reduce or limit the area suitable for eagles to live. Therefore, without serious measures to preserve such territories, all bans on hunting and similar measures remain in vain. On a relatively small scale, climate change can lead to irreparable loss of entire species.
20. The eagle is the top of the food pyramid or the last link in the food chain. He can eat - and uses, if necessary - literally everything, but he himself is not food for anyone. In hungry years, eagles also eat plant food, there are even species for which it is at times the main one. However, no one has ever noticed that the eagles ate carrion or even the carcasses of animals with little signs of decay.
