Steppe eagle

2017-04-12T15:47:21Z

Caeruleancentaur: /* Habitat and feeding */ Spelling correction.

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2011}}
{{Taxobox
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>{{IUCN|id=22696038 |title=''Aquila nipalensis'' |assessor=BirdLife International |assessor-link=BirdLife International |version=2015 |year=2015 |accessdate=24 January 2016}}</ref>
| image = Steppe Eagle Portrait.jpg
| image_caption=Individual at [[Jorbeer]], [[Bikaner]], [[Rajasthan]]
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Bird|Aves]]
| ordo = [[Accipitriformes]]
| familia = [[Accipitridae]]
| genus = ''[[Aquila (genus)|Aquila]]''
| species = '''''A. nipalensis'''''
| binomial = ''Aquila nipalensis''
| binomial_authority = ([[Brian Houghton Hodgson|Hodgson]], 1833)
| synonyms =''Aquila rapax nipalensis''
| range_map = Aquila nipalensis dis.PNG
| range_map_caption = Range of ''A. nipalensis'' {{leftlegend|#0DFF00|Breeding range|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#0062FF|Wintering range|outline=gray}}
}}

The ''' steppe eagle''' (''Aquila nipalensis'') is a [[bird of prey]]. Like all [[eagle]]s, it belongs to the family [[Accipitridae]].<ref name=RaptorsWorld/> It was once considered to be closely related to the [[bird migration|non-migratory]] [[tawny eagle]] (''Aquila rapax'') and the two forms have previously been treated as conspecific. They were split based on pronounced differences in morphology and anatomy;<ref name=Clark1992/><ref name=Olson1994/><ref name=Sangster2002/> two molecular studies, each based on a very small number of genes, indicate that the species are distinct but disagree over how closely related they are.<ref name=globalraptors/>

==Description==
[[File:Steppe Eagle's Gape.jpg|thumb|left|The gape of the steppe eagle is an easy way to distinguish it from the tawny eagle. The gape extends beyond the centre of the eye as against the tawny. The oval nostril sets it apart from the spotted eagles.]]
It is about {{convert|62|–|81|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length and has a wingspan of {{convert|1.65|–|2.15|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Females, weighing {{convert|2.3|–|4.9|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, are slightly larger than males, at {{convert|2|–|3.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. This is a large [[eagle]] with brown upperparts and blackish flight feathers and tail. This species is larger and darker than the tawny eagle, and it has a pale throat which is lacking in that species. Immature birds are less contrasted than adults, but both show a range of variation in [[plumage]] colour. The eastern [[subspecies]] ''A. n. nipalensis'' is larger and darker than the European and Central Asian ''A. n. orientalis''.

The call of the steppe eagle sounds like a [[crow]] barking, but it is rather a silent bird.

==Habitat and feeding==
The steppe eagle breeds from [[Romania]] east through the south Russian and [[Central Asia]]n steppes to [[Mongolia]]. The [[Europe]]an and Central Asian birds winter in [[Africa]], and the eastern birds in [[India]]. It lays 1–3 [[bird egg|eggs]] in a stick [[bird nest|nest]] in a tree. Throughout its range it favours open dry habitats, such as [[desert]], semi-desert, [[steppe]]s, or savannah.

[[File:Aquila nipalensis egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden.jpg|left|thumb|Egg, Collection [[Museum Wiesbaden]]]]

It is found in south-eastern [[Pakistan]] especially in [[Karachi]]. Large numbers are seen at certain places such as Khare in [[Nepal]] during migration. As many as 15.3 birds per hour during October and November have been noted.<ref name=DeCandido2001/>

The steppe eagle's diet is largely fresh [[carrion]] of all kinds, but it will kill [[rodent]]s and other small [[mammal]]s up to the size of a hare, and birds up to the size of [[partridge]]s. It will also steal food from other raptors. Like other species, the steppe eagle has a crop in its throat allowing it to store food for several hours before being moved to the stomach.

==Concerns==
The paper based on joint research conducted by the [[Bombay Natural History Society]], [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds]] and [[Indian Veterinary Research Institute]], published in May 2014 in the journal of the [[Cambridge University Press]], highlighted that steppe eagles are adversely affected by veterinary use of [[diclofenac]] and may fall prey to it. The research found the same signs of kidney failure as seen in the ''[[Gyps]]'' vulture killed due to diclofenac. They found extensive visceral gout, lesions and uric acid deposits in the liver, kidney and spleen, as well as deposits of diclofenac residue in tissues. Steppe eagles are opportunistic scavengers, which may expose them to the risk of diclofenac poisoning.<ref name=Phadnis2014/>

==Cultural significance==
The Steppe Eagle appears on the [[flag of Kazakhstan]].

[[File:Steppe Eagle.ogv|thumb|left|Thumamah, KSA 1993|thumbtime=1]]
[[File:Aquila nipalensis 2010.JPG|thumb|At Wildpark Tripsdrill, Germany]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=Clark1992>{{cite journal |last=Clark |first=W.S. |year=1992 |title=The taxonomy of Steppe and Tawny Eagles, with criteria for separation of museum specimens and live eagles |journal=[[Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club]] |volume=112 |pages=150–157 |url=http://biostor.org/reference/112208}}</ref>

<ref name=DeCandido2001>{{cite journal |last1=DeCandido |first1=R. |last2=Allen |first2=D. |last3=Bildstein |first3=K.L. |year=2001 |title=The migration of Steppe Eagles (Aquila nipalensis) and other raptors in central Nepal, autumn 1999 |journal=Journal of Raptor Research |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=35–39 |url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jrr/v035n01/p00035-p00039.pdf}}</ref>

<ref name=globalraptors>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/SpeciesResults.asp?specID=8167 |title=Steppe Eagle ''Aquila nipalensis'' |website=globalraptors.org | publisher = Global Raptor Information Network}}</ref>

<ref name=Olson1994>{{cite journal |last1=Olson |first1=Storrs L. |year=1994 |title=Cranial osteology of Tawny and Steppe Eagles ''Aquila rapax'' and ''A. nipalensis'' |journal=[[Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club]] |volume=114 |pages=264–267 |url=http://biostor.org/reference/112139}}</ref>

<ref name=Phadnis2014>{{cite news |first=Mayuri|last=Phadnis |title=Eagles fall prey to vulture-killing chemical |publisher=Pune Mirror |date=28 May 2014 |url=http://www.punemirror.in/pune/others/Eagles-fall-prey-to-vulture-killing-chemical/articleshow/35639257.cms |accessdate=28 May 2014}}</ref>

<ref name=RaptorsWorld>{{cite book |last1=Ferguson-Lees |first1=J. |last2=Christie |first2=D. |year=2001 |title=Raptors of the World |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=0-618-12762-3}}</ref>

<ref name=Sangster2002>{{cite journal |last1=Sangster |first1=George |last2=Knox |first2=Alan G. |last3=Helbig |first3=Andreas J. |last4=Parkin |first4=David T. |year=2002 |title=Taxonomic recommendations for European birds |journal=[[Ibis (journal)|Ibis]] |volume=144 |issue=1 |pages=153–159 |doi=10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x |url=http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite conference |last=Svensson |first=Lars |authorlink=Lars Svensson (ornithologist) |title=Underwing pattern of Steppe, Spotted and Lesser Spotted Eagles |pages=12–14 |conference=International Bird Identification: Proceeedings of the 4th International Identification Meeting |location=Eilat |date=1–8 November 1986 |publisher=International Birdwatching Centre Eilat}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Aquila nipalensis}}
{{wikispecies|Aquila nipalensis}}
* [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/133.pdf Steppe eagle species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds]
* {{BirdLife|22696038|Aquila nipalensis}}
* {{Avibase|name=Aquila nipalensis}}
* {{InternetBirdCollection|steppe-eagle-aquila-nipalensis}}
* {{VIREO|Steppe+Eagle}}
* {{Xeno-canto species|Aquila|nipalensis|Steppe eagle}}

{{Buteoninae}}
{{taxonbar}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:eagle, steppe}}
[[Category:Aquila (genus)|steppe eagle]]
[[Category:Eagles|steppe eagle]]
[[Category:Birds of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Birds of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Birds of Western China]]
[[Category:Birds of North China]]
[[Category:Vagrant birds of Africa]]
[[Category:Asian migratory birds]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1833|steppe eagle]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Birds of Nairobi]]

Sterlet

2016-12-27T23:52:21Z

Caeruleancentaur: /* As food */ Link added.

{{Taxobox
| name = Sterlet
| image = Acipenser ruthenus Prague Vltava_1.jpg
| image_caption =
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{IUCN |assessor=Gesner, J. |assessor2=Freyhof, J. |assessor3=Kottelat, M. |last-assessor-amp=yes |year=2010 |id=227 |taxon=Acipenser ruthenus |version=2012.2}}</ref>
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Actinopterygii]]
| ordo = [[Acipenseriformes]]
| familia = [[Acipenseridae]]
| genus = ''[[Acipenser]]''
| species = '''''A. ruthenus'''''
| binomial = ''Acipenser ruthenus''
| binomial_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
}}

The '''sterlet''' (''Acipenser ruthenus'') is a relatively small species of [[sturgeon]] from [[Eurasia]] native to large rivers that flow into the [[Black Sea]], [[Azov Sea]], and [[Caspian Sea]], as well as rivers in [[Siberia]] as far east as [[Yenisei River|Yenisei]]. Populations migrating between fresh and salt water ([[anadromous]]) have been [[extirpated]].<ref name=IUCN/>

Due to overfishing (for its flesh, [[caviar]], and [[isinglass]]), pollution, and dams, the sterlet has declined throughout its native range and is considered [[Vulnerable species|vulnerable]] by the [[IUCN]].<ref name=IUCN/> Restocking projects are ongoing, and it has been [[Introduced species|introduced]] to some regions outside its native range, but the latter have generally not become self-sustaining.<ref name=IUCN/> Today, the majority of the international trade involves sterlets from [[aquaculture]].<ref name=IUCN/>

==Physical appearance==
*The sterlet may reach 16 kg in weight and 100 to 125 cm in length, rarely exceeding a length of 3 ft.
*It is quite variable in coloration, but usually has a yellowish [[ventral]] side.
*It is distinguishable from other European species of sturgeons by the presence of a great number of whitish lateral [[scutes]], fringed [[barbel (anatomy)|barbel]]s, and an elongated and narrow snout, highly variable in length.

==Feeding habits==
The sterlet's main source of food is [[benthic]] organisms; they commonly feed on [[crustaceans]], [[worm]]s, and insect [[larva]]e.
[[File:Acipenser ruthenus Prague Vltava_3.jpg|thumb|300px|left|On exhibition Subaqueous Vltava, Prague]]

==Life history==
[[File:Acipenser ruthenus3.jpg|thumb|]]
The sterlet commonly reaches the age of 22 to 25 years. Males reach sexual maturity at 3–7 years old and females at 4–12 years old. Spawning occurs from the middle of April to the beginning of June. Females may lay from 15,000–44,000 eggs, at water temperatures preferably 12–17 °C (54–63 °F).

==As pond fish==
Sterlets require relatively large ponds with good water conditions, and may get entangled in plants such as [[blanketweed]]. They may require special food such as sterlet sticks, as they are unable to digest the vegetable proteins usually found in commercial fish foods.

==As food==
[[File:Sterlet with satsivi.JPG|thumb|Sterlet with [[Walnut sauce|satsivi]]]]
In Russia, it is held in high esteem on account of its excellent flesh, contributing also to the best kinds of caviar and [[isinglass]].

==Sturgeon hybrids==
*Sterlet x Beluga (''Huso huso'') = (Bester)
*Sterlet x Siberian [Russian] Sturgeon (''Acipenser gueldenstaedtii'')]
*Sterlet x Diamondback
*Hybrids are hardier than their parents.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Acipenseriformes}}

[[Category:Freshwater fish of Europe]]
[[Category:Fish of Europe]]
[[Category:Fish of the Black Sea]]
[[Category:Fauna of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Fish of Russia]]
[[Category:Animals described in 1758]]

{{Acipenseriformes-stub}}

Kazakhstan Encyclopedia - User contributions [en]

Steppe eagle

Sterlet