title: "White-tailed eagle" content: roe deer have been reported, which could potentially weigh around (their average mature weight), in addition to several cases of predation on young roe deer. A yearling juvenile male eagle scaling , newly reintroduced into the wild on Rùm killed a healthy, red deer calf within a couple days. One of the primary causes of the white-tailed eagles persecution by humans is that white-tailed eagles often feed on domestic sheep ("Ovis aries") and goats ("Capra aegagrus hircus"), especially lambs and kids. However, they very seldomly take any healthy specimens and mostly feed on these after death. Of 36 cases of


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: feeding on lambs and kids by white-tailed eagles in Norway, only 12 could be proven to have been taken alive by the eagles. Prey of other animal classes is rarely taken by white-tailed eagles. Particularly, the diversity of reptiles known in the prey spectrum, at only 6 species, is quite paltry when compared to the many species known to be hunted by the bald eagle. Further among amphibians only two species of toad are known to be taken. The Ural mountains is the only region where some diversity of reptile and amphibian species have been reported in their diet. In


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: only the white-tailed eagles nesting in Hokkaido, they’ve been known to hunt large cephalopods such as robust clubhook squid ("Onykia robusta") and giant Pacific octopus ("Enteroctopus dofleini"), though likely mainly younger specimens of the latter. White-tailed eagle juveniles have been seen rarely foraging for unidentified clams and mussels on the Rhine. However, the miscellaneous shells of marine mussels and snails found in Norway are probably usually consumed secondarily from the stomachs of eiders. An exceptional number of insects, amounting to 24% of food items by number, were found in the foods of white-tailed eagles in Augustów Primeval Forest, Poland, almost


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: entirely Odonata. The source of this food is not clear as the white-tailed eagle is far too large and bulky a raptor to invest much time in pursuit of insects. As the largest eagle in the majority of its distribution, the white-tailed eagle is assuredly an apex predator in its range. In some areas, it may compete somewhat however with other large raptors, especially golden eagles. Relations between these two species are complex and variable. In Scotland, where both eagles have been reintroduced or re-established, competition is particularly considerable. This is, in part, due to their diets being more similar


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: than elsewhere in their range, with both species preying heavily on rabbits and hares and being reliant on carrion year-around, whereas in most other areas both favor carrion mostly only in winter. As much as 90% of their diets in Scotland can overlap. As in Scotland, golden eagles by preference hunt mainly rabbits, hares and gamebirds (and some ground squirrels) while the white-tailed eagle elsewhere usually prefers fish and water birds. Another factor is the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles occurred after golden eagles had been re-established in Scotland and that some of the golden eagles began to nest, beyond their


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: usually rocky, mountainous habitats, in or near trees in coastal or near lowland wet areas historically occupied by white-tailed eagles. Therefore, increased heated territorial conflicts between the species have been recorded in the last several decades. Given appropriate healthy populations and ample habitat, as in Norway, the golden and white-tailed eagles are considerably segregated in nesting regions and direct competition is much milder. In spite of a size advantage for the white-tailed eagle, the golden eagle is reportedly “strongly dominant” over the white-tailed in food conflicts and, perhaps, in direct nesting competition. This is in part because of the swifter,


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: more agile flight of golden eagles, as well as their greater overall aggression towards other raptors and perhaps due to their somewhat longer toes and larger talons, although there is little evidence that the golden and white-tailed eagles are notably different in strength. In many intraguild diurnal raptor assemblages, a slightly smaller, swifter-flying species often dominate their heavier competitors unless size differences become extreme, to the contrary of owls and several other predators which often adhere fairly strictly to a size-based dominance hierarchy. Golden eagles won all food conflicts over carrion observed by one author over the course of two


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: winters in Norway, with the white-tailed eagles only displacing goldens after the golden eagles had already fed for some time. However, cases of white-tailed eagles winning food conflicts have been reported as well and perhaps more assured mature white-tailed eagles may fare better in such conflicts. Some territorial conflicts in Scotland have escalated, albeit rarely, to both eagle species killing the other. White-tailed eagles are said to be “dominant”, however, in population ecology as they can exist at higher population densities and typically outnumber golden eagles because of their longer gut and more efficient digestive system, being able to live


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: better with less food. Notably, in competition in North America, neither the golden or bald eagle are said to be dominant and either species may win conflicts. Furthermore, bald eagles may succeed in procuring up to 25% of fresh golden eagle kills in winter and golden eagles are reported to decidedly avoid active nesting areas of bald eagles. Beyond golden eagles, white-tailed eagles may live alongside a wide range of other large raptors, but other eagles are considerably different in dietary and habitat preferences, so there is almost no competitive effect. For example, in Kazakhstan, white-tailed eagles were recorded to


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: nest in proximity to golden eagles, eastern imperial eagles ("Aquila heliaca") and steppe eagles ("Aquila nipalensis") and all four eagles appear almost entirely indifferent to the presence of the other species, given their considerable partitioning in diet and habitat preferences. More significantly than the "Aquila" species, the white-tailed eagle seemed to have no issue nesting within a few hundred metres of the other eagles. A more direct effect may be detected on other fish-eating birds, for example recovering numbers of white-tailed eagles in Lithuania was thought to limit local osprey populations. However, in similar habitats, white storks and lesser spotted


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: eagles ("Clanga pomarina") appeared to not be competitively effected. Besides competitive effects, white-tailed eagles may adversely effect ospreys by habitually robbing them of their catches. Besides the poorly studied relations between the Pallas's fish eagle and white-tailed eagle in the southern limits of the latter's Asian distribution, the only other "Haliaeetus" to live broadly alongside white-tailed eagles are Steller's sea eagles. Being larger and heavier, the Steller's is often characterized as a more powerful predator. Nonetheless, studies of the species ecologies show that the Steller's is a more restricted feeder on salmonids and that the Steller's tended to defend a


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: smaller home range area than white-tailed eagles do in the Russian Far East. However, the Steller's appeared to be more flexible in readily switching nest sites between trees and rocky areas, whereas white-tailed eagles of this area exclusively nested in trees. Both species seemed to avoid active territories of the other but little direct conflict during breeding was detected. Although the Steller's sea eagle may be somewhat favored in wintertime food conflicts given its sometimes considerably larger size, both it and the white-tailed eagles have been observed to win conflicts over fish, with golden eagles sometimes entering the fray and


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: sometimes losing or winning conflicts. Given their larger population and farther current range into warmer areas (whereas the modern white-tailed eagle is only common in cold, northern climes), bald eagles (the ecological equivalent of the white-tailed eagle in North America) have a considerably broader prey spectrum than white-tailed eagles that ranges well over 400 species, with more species recorded from nearly all animal taxon. Although about 56% of the bald eagle's diet is comprised by fish, bald eagles often take a higher diversity and numbers of alternate prey such as mammals, reptiles and amphibians than do white-tailed eagles. Although other


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: birds of prey are seldom caught, given that they are wary, fast and can defend themselves well, the white-tailed eagle can be characterized as an opportunistic predator of such birds. Indicating that they are regarded as a threat to raptors is that they are frequently mobbed by a wide range of raptor species when displaying active flights, to a similar regard that the perhaps more aggressively predatory golden eagle is. Given the difficulty of this prey type, white-tailed eagles are likely to attack other birds of prey when the victims are distracted, whether by migration on windy days, nesting duties


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: or when trying to capture their own prey, are previously injured or they may even capture one while the raptor tries to mob the eagle. Certainly, nestlings and fledglings can certainly comprise a large fraction of the birds of prey caught as well as adult ones. Other accipitrids they are known to have preyed upon, in increasing order of size are the Eurasian sparrowhawk ("Accipiter nisus"), western marsh harrier ("Circus aeruginosus"), black kite ("Milvus migrans"), European honey-buzzard ("Pernis apivorus"), common buzzard ("Buteo buteo"), northern goshawk, red kite ("Milvus milvus"), lesser spotted eagle ("Clanga pomarina") and eastern imperial eagle, in addition


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: to osprey. Non-accipitrid raptorial birds, these more likely restricted to fully independent birds due to their less conspicuous nests, known to fall prey to white-tailed eagles include Eurasian pygmy owl ("Glaucidium passerinum"), boreal owl ("Aegolius funereus"), Eurasian hobby ("Falco subbuteo"), long-eared owl (Asio otus), northern hawk owl ("Surnia ulula"), short-eared owl ("Asio flammeus"), peregrine falcon ("Falco peregrinus"), snowy owl ("Bubo scandiacus") and Eurasian eagle owl ("Bubo bubo"). Accipitrid prey size ranges by body mass ranges from for a sparrowhawk to in the imperial eagle and that of non-accipitrid raptors ranges from for the pygmy owl to for the eagle owl


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: and apparently both imperial eagles and eagle owls that were caught were adults. As true apex predators, healthy adult white-tailed eagles have no known natural predators. The breeding season is from January to July in the south of the white-tailed eagles range, and from April to September in the northern part of their range. They pair for life, though if one dies replacement can occur quickly. A bond is formed when a permanent home range is chosen. White-tailed eagles frequently engage during early spring variously in soaring, sky-dancing and other aerial displays, all with much loud calling, often performed by


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: pair members together, including spectacular mutual cartwheel downwards where talons touch or interlock. Nuptial displays may occur almost year-around in some parts of the range, increasing after young disperse in autumn, thence at rare intervals until spring when such behavior, of course, peaks. Courtship often begins with a bird, often the male, "sky pointing" or "long calling" by throwing their head back. Soaring by pairs follows, with either partner leading by or soaring opposite directions. One may swoop upon the other who responds by tilting to one side or may roll over to touch talons momentarily before separating. This may


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: be repeated or gain intensity until they are talon-grappling or "mutual cartwheeling", consisting of the pair locking talons mid-air and whirling earthwards in series of spectacular cartwheels. When doing this, the pair may stop only a few feet above the ground. Talon grappling is usually associated with territorial clashes in most accipitrids, especially between males, but in "Haliaeetus" such behaviour also seems to be related to courtship and is engaged by pairs as well as males attacking intruding males. When locally common, 2-3 pairs can be seen displaying in the sky quite near each other but each pair in fact


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: are within a border of a well-defined territory. In Greenland, recorded pair densities were 0.3-0.6 occupied territories per . In eastern Germany, densities were reported as 1.6-2 pairs per . Norwegian nests appear at no closer than ; territory size on Norwegian coasts were reported as roughly . Fischer noted 8-9 pairs on the small Norwegian island of Fugloy due to its huge seabird colonies, with late summer numbers boosting to 75 eagles, all within an area of only . 5 occupied nests were noted on a stretch of the Russian Yenisei River. Mating chiefly occurs between mid-March and mid-April


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: in most parts of the range. The pair may copulate be about once every 20 minutes for several hours. Prior to mating, a more skilled and graceful flying than usual may be undertaken by the male as the final stage of courtship. After his final display, the female crouches low, almost flat, with her head and neck outstretched, wings half open, and tail held level with the rest of the body. Mating has been recorded in white-tailed eagles to occur almost anywhere including a low perch, on the nest, on the ground or even on frozen lake surfaces, usually close


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: to the nest at least but also at as far away from the nest as in Norway. Sometimes both members of the pair will assume the female's typical mating position simultaneously side-by-side until he jumps on her back. Once the male mounts he often calls loudly and flaps both wings to maintain his balance. After about 12 seconds he dismounts and sits quietly, ultimately will do so about 5 to 6 in 1.5 hours and at nearly any time of the day. White-tailed eagles most often nest in large trees, with perhaps coniferous trees preferred and nests may be in


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: a high main fork, on the canopy or a large side branch. Access to food is a key consideration in the nest's location in white-tailed eagles. In Germany, 75% of eyries were within of a lake, although one was away from any lake though was somewhat closer to the Baltic Sea. 80% of German nests were described as being in forests but eagles exhibited preferences for wooded islands or promontories and most nests were usually towards edge of open space: a clearing, marshy ground or even agricultural land. Among the few eyries in open land were never more than away


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: from woods. Only 1 cliff nest was recorded in Germany, on the Baltic island of Rugen. Older records indicated ground nests also recorded in the German Baltic region. Most German nests were at heights from off ground in the main fork of trees, rarely on ample horizontal tree branches. Tree nest height is partially based on tree species, i.e. in Romania, on black poplars ("Populus nigra") and willows nest height would was recorded at of the ground but one was on a broken tree at only from the ground. There in the lower Danube of Romania beyond the mainly utilized


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: black poplars and willows, one was on "a weak oak sapling", 6 on high, thick oaks, 5 in white poplars ("Populus alba"), 2 in beeches and one in a wild pear tree. Another quote on eyrie height along the Danube was at above the ground. Trees used for nests in Hokkaido were often the tallest in a stand, averaging higher than the average tree height in their stand. Tree species preferred here were "Picea glehnii" and "Alnus japonica". Nest height in Hokkaido was similar to that in Europe at above the ground. In eastern Germany, among 177 nests, 65% were


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: in mature pines, 22% in copper beeches ("Fagus sylvatica"), 8% in oak with the remainder in alder, elm, poplar and birch. The German eyries ranged in height from , averaging , usually in tallest trees available. Nests can be on crags, whether or not trees may be available, depending on regional habitat. In 98 Norwegian eyries, only 8 were in trees, the rest were on cliffs. In comparison, against the 86% nests that were on cliffs in Norway, 79% known in Scotland were too, 77% in Iceland and all known Greenlandic nests were in cliffs or other rocky spots. Nest


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: height on cliffs can be over above the nearest flat ground. Rarely, they may nest on the ground or a low hummock, as well as smaller trees, low bushes, on sand banks or among reed beds. Showing their adaptability, one pair even nested on a buoy on a Norwegian shipping route. Nests are usually huge, constructed of sticks and branches, averaging roughly across and up to deep, but can be several metres in width & depth, lined variously with moss, greenery, seaweed or wool. The nest must have easy access for the eagles with a clear view of the surrounding


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: environment, shelter from the elements and protection from nest predators. In forest of Finland, it has been estimated that perhaps only 1 in a thousand trees will prove attractive to white-tailed eagles. Cliff nests often include lesser materials, some may be only a scooped shallow depression of soil, or pile of heather or juniper stems with stipes of dried "Laminaria", but also sticks up to and several cm thick may be incorporated; almost any material available may line the nests such as seaweed, driftwood, even glass or metal floats and, in one to two cases, the dried skeleton a sheep.


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: In tree nests, the average nest diameter is about , with nests in trees tending to be larger, more rigid and stronger. A relatively new 4 year old nest weighed and one about twice that age can exceed in mass. Some tree nests may range easily up to in diameter and deep after many repairs over years, with extreme sizes of perhaps another metre in diameter and depth, or “twice the height of a man”. Tree nests may be lined with lichen, moss, seaweed, ferns, grass, woodrush, heather or "Empetrum"; many tree nests may be lined with sheep's wool. The


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: male of the pair more often brings nesting branches, while female takes the primary role in construction. A nest may be added to by the resident pair at as early as December onwards, but usually do so starting in March at high latitudes. A new nest may take several months to construct, but if an old nest is lost in late winter, pairs have been known to build a new nest faster than average in less than a month, however egg laying may be inhibited in such cases. Repair to an existing nest can take about 18 days. White-tailed eagles


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: have also used nests built by other species: black kite, common buzzard, common raven ("Corvus corax") and, subsequent to the eagles evicting them, ospreys and red kites. Eastern imperial eagles, saker ("Falco cherrug") and peregrine falcons have used old white-tailed eagles nests, in the two swift falcon species they've been recorded in evicting pairs of white-tailed eagles from their eyries with persistent dive-bombing. In one case, after having been displaced by humans from an eyrie that had seen 30 years of white-tailed eagle use, an eagle pair returned to find the nest occupied by peregrine falcons. Despite many dogfights, the


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: eagles constructed a nest higher up in the same tree. Although fighting continued, both species succeeded in raising 1 fledgling each. In Norway, pairs of ravens, peregrines and white-tailed eagles have been known to successfully nest on the same cliff face. Many small species of bird may nest in the immediate area of white-tailed eagle eyries, presumably due to incidental protection: Eurasian tree sparrow ("Passer montanus"), white wagtail ("Motacilla alba"), Eurasian treecreepers ("Certhia familiaris"), common redstarts ("Phoenicurus phoenicurus"), European crested tits ("Lophophanes cristatus"), Eurasian starlings and stock doves ("Columba oenas"). Like in the golden eagle, pairs of white-tailed eagles often


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: build multiple nests on their home range over time and use them randomly over different years (sometimes using one for several consecutive years or changing nests every year over several years). The species may build from 1 to 11 nests, averaging 2.5 in Norway with pairs with up to 5 nests being not uncommon in that country. Individual white-tailed eagles tend to be remarkably consistent on egg-laying times from year to year, seemingly regardless of surrounding weather conditions. Egg laying does vary of course by latitude. Historic breeders from Israel and Iran (where they still usually breed) were reported to


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: lay eggs in January, while in Greece and the lower Volga river it is during February, in Germany mostly during March and in the subarctic of Lapland and northern Russia, to as late as late April to early May. White-tailed eagles in Scotland seem to have average egg laying about 3 weeks later, late March to early April, than those in coastal Norway. Even near Arctic in Finland, eggs were found as early as March 5 despite ranging often to as late as May. Younger pairs may nest later on average than older ones. In white-tailed eagles, many (perhaps a


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: majority) of clutches consist of 2 eggs, especially in Irish and Scottish nests, with 3 egg clutches being considered uncommon to rare there. 4 egg clutches have been recorded on the Isle of Skye, as well as in at least Poland, Romania and Norway. Clutch size in Scotland averages 1.56, while in Norway it is 2.16. The eggs are a broad oval shape and dull white in colour, sometimes with a glossy sheen and are usually unmarked but for occasional yellowish stain. Fresh egg weigh from , with an average of approximately for the 1st egg and for the 2nd.


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: If replacement clutch is laid, usually a single egg is laid which may weigh as little as . Average egg dimension seem to keep in accordance with the female body size, smallest mean size known were from Turkey where the average dimensions were to the largest in 3 surveys from Greenland, where they were . In 54 eggs from Scotland they ranged from , averaging , in height by , averaging , in width. In comparison, 90 eggs from mainland Europe ranged from , averaging , by , averaging . Eggs may be compromised quickly by frost and snow in


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: relatively early clutches. Incubation starts as soon as the 1st egg is laid. In the species, a 2 to 3 day interval between the first and 2nd egg being laid (as well as hatching) is recorded. The female does up to 80-90% of incubation and all known nighttime incubating. However, in Norway, the male of a pair could contribute up to about 27% of incubation to daylight hours. There may be as many as 11 changes of the incubating individual within a day. The longest period recorded the clutch was unguarded was 20 minutes, although 1 pair perched nearby the


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: nest without incubating for 48 minutes. The clutches in Norway left alone only 2-4% of the time. In some cases female may do all the incubation alone, however. When the female is off the nest, she sometimes kills prey and returns with a full crop, but prey capture during incubation is often up to the male. Late into incubation, shift changes decreases and the female will sit tight and will crouch down at the approach of a human rather than leave the nest. Calling and displaying are reduced during incubation, but occasionally both may leave the clutch and display still.


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: The time range for incubation can vary from 34 to 46 days, but usually are between 38 and 42 days. A calculated mean time range for incubation of 38.3 days. In 1983, it was listed that brood size is one 56.5% of the time and two 40.8% of the time in 8 studies from different parts of the range; only 2.5% of these studies had a brood size of three and only 1 from Norway was a brood size of four recorded. From 14 studies, the mean number of chicks in a brood may range from 1.1 in western Germany


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: to 1.9 in southern Kazakhstan, with average overall brood size of 1.52. However, these datasets may be skewered lower than natural brood size as a majority these are from the mid to late 20th century when pesticide use considerably lowered the mean number of hatchlings in many parts of the range. New hatchlings will weigh about but in Hokkaido new hatchlings were surprisingly notably heavier at . The sex of nestlings can be identified using field methods, or using DNA. Initially, the hatchlings have a creamy white down which is longest and whitest on the head and often dirty grayish


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: on wings and rump. Before they start walking about the nest, their underside may have several bare patches. The nestlings first become audible at around 2 to3 days and have become active enough to move around the nest and excrete over the nest edge by 10 days old. The initial down is replaced by a thick woolly coat of longer, coarser grayish down, which is usually darker on the crown, underparts and flanks. The legs and cere at this young nestling age can range from pinkish to pale yellow. By about 30 days the first feathers poke through the down.


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: The eaglets can feed themselves starting at 35–40 days. At 6 weeks (40 days) they are more firm on their feet and between this and the following week feathers take over the down, with patches of down remaining but usually gone by week 7. Wing flapping begins only when the wings are partially feathered at 42 days. Around seven weeks of age, the eaglet is more alert and stronger and frequently manipulates sticks and walks more so. At 8 weeks only the long feathers of the wing and tail have yet to develop fully and eaglets tend to start exploring


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: the surrounding branches. The eaglets will attempt their first flight at about 70 days and will usually be flying well by about 90 days of age. Fledgling occurs around mid- to late July in Norway, and about 3–4 weeks later in Russian White Sea. The female of the white-tailed eagle pair seems to do all the brooding early on and will be especially reluctant to leave the nest as well. Thereafter, at 14 to 28 days, brooding behaviour by the female gradually declines. The male may start to brood occasionally around this time period but will not do so at


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: night. Females may sit on the nest or shelter the fledglings from rain even 28 days after fledging but usually such behavior is much reduced. Chicks may be fed as many as 11 times in 24 hours by the female who usually dismantles prey brought by the male. To 28 days, male continues to do most of the prey capture but thereafter female does much of it and both parents begin to leave kills on the nest for the eaglets to consume. As the chicks grow older, favored food often switches from fish to birds to meet their increasing food


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: requirements as well as prey behavior as waterfowl may be flightless during eclipse. Caches are often depleted quickly late into nestling development. At start of fledgling, 4-5 carcasses may be brought in a week but by the end only 1 to 2 are usually brought, probably to encourage the young to start their own prey captures. After leaving the nest, the young usually stay nearby for another 35–40 days and may still be largely fed by their parents but gradually learn to take their own prey. In continental Europe, the young eagles are gone from the nest as early as


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: early July to about August 10 and fully independent by late August. In this late summer stage, they may learn quickly to feed on stranded fish or to capture ducks flightless in eclipse. Juvenile eagles may remain for a long time on their parents range and apparently are not resented or repelled even to the ages of 1 to 3 years. However, usually by their first winter they will have congregated with other unrelated juveniles. Communal juvenile roosts in Norway can maintain 30-40 white-tailed eagles usually in trees or steep slopes of offshore islands. Sexual maturity is reached at 5


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: to 6 years of age. Normally white-tailed eagles succeed in raising 1-2 from a clutch of 2 and 2 from a clutch of 3. The average breeding success seems to be about 1.1-1.6 young per annum (i.e. 45-48 young from 40 observed cases, with 16 failures) (1.6 young per pair in 93 recorded Norwegian nests). About 33% of nesting attempts will fail to produce any young, and this is sometimes is as many as 75% (at times of heavy persecution or pesticide use). Beyond manmade threats to white-tailed eagle nestlings, starvation and nest collapse are considerable causes of nestling deaths.


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: Natural threats in the nest may also include siblicide (or “cainism”) wherein the largest nestling behave aggressively and gradually kill their smaller sibling, which is often consumed. Despite claims to contrary, siblicide in white-tailed eagle does occur with some regularity in some parts of the range, from Germany to Hokkaido although is certainly less frequent than in some eagle species, including the golden eagle. Single cases were reported in the White Sea and Iceland, and it may occur situationally as in many birds of prey when prey populations are low or prey capture is inhibited by poor weather. Siblicide can


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: be avoided in white-tailed eagles with manipulative techniques, which may include taking out and hand-rearing the runt, put a chick into a nest with slightly younger brood which it is about the same size as, or taking the first egg out and putting it back in later so it develops evenly with its younger sibling. Surplus chicks are sometimes removed from nests to use in reintroduction programs in areas where the species has died out. If left in the nest, they often die sooner or later, as with most large eagles. In such programs the birds are raised in boxes


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: on platforms in the tree canopy and fed in such a way that they cannot see the human supplying their food, until they are old enough to fly and thus find their own food. Known natural predators of white-tailed eagle eggs and nestlings include red foxes, martens and bears, especially if nesting in overly accessible rock formations, while wild boars have been recorded eating eggs and nestlings that’ve fallen out of the nest too early. Avian predation, overall a seemingly rare occurrence, of white-tailed eagle eggs and nestlings have been reported as crows, common ravens and western marsh harriers, which


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: are likely to succeed in cases where nest attendance is low or if successful in driving away the parents via fierce mobbing. Furthermore, Eurasian eagle owls have been reported to prey upon "fairly large" nestlings of white-tailed eagle in nighttime ambushes. Many juveniles do not survive their first year post-independence. In the 1970s, an average of 56% banded first-year white-tailed eagles in Norway, Sweden and Greenland were found dead, most often having been shot. In eastern Germany, of 194 white-tailed eagles found dead between 1946 and 1972, of those where cause of death could be determined, 39% had been shot,


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: accidents (especially powerlines) accounted for 6%, territorial disputes 7.5% and conservatively 13% were from poisoning. It is estimated that the survival of those that reach adulthood at 70%. Another estimate of average lifespan for those who reach adulthood is just over 12 years. Widely reported individuals have been found to live for 25 years or more, Another estimate of mean lifespan (presumably without persecution) is 21 years. At one point, the oldest banded white-tailed eagle known in the wild known lived for 27 years. However, a wild eagle of the species was subsequently recorded to life for 33.1 years. White-tailed


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: eagles in captivity have lived for more than 40 years, though their exactly captive longevity record is not known. The white-tailed eagle formerly bred over much wider area, extending west to much of western Europe and perhaps south almost continuously in that region to the Mediterranean. From the 19th century, the species underwent a huge, well-documented decline. Ultimately the white-tailed eagle was almost extinct in Europe, extirpated from all but Scandinavia (mainly remaining in Norway) and some sparse patches of eastern Europe. They were extinct in the entire British Isles by the early 1900s. At one time, the white-tailed eagle


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: bred down to Africa in Egypt, particularly around Lake Manzala with individuals wandering rarely to Algeria and Tunisia. It is likely that habitat degradation and drying conditions caused the extirpation of the species as all but a vagrant in Egypt. Two pairs that nested in the Jordan valley of Israel ceased to breed, apparently due to agricultural chemicals, in the early 1950s. The species also once bred in northern Syria but is not found reliably there even in winter in modern times. In Britain, the opinion towards white-tailed eagles became negative in sync with the creation of farmland and commercial


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: fishing, as it was quickly perceived that they were competitors for resources and could deplete the livelihood of flocks for shepherds (despite this being largely untrue) and game animals for gamekeepers. Therefore, laws were passed to facilitate their destruction. Already by the end of the 18th century, down from breeding in all appropriate habitat, the English population was down to only localized breeding, namely in the Isle of Wight, Lundy, Isle of Man and (probably) near Plymouth; within a couple decades the species only remained in the Lake District. Before the advent of firearms, few people in England and Scotland


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: were highly motivated to kill eagles since this could be time-consuming and hazardous process, therefore the British government rose the bounty on eagles to a very high 5 shillings a head by the turn of the 18th century. Unfortunately, eyries in many coastal sites were found to be easily accessible so that destroying or selling eggs was common. Subsequent to systematic persecution, in Greenland 62% of eyries found to be "easily accessible" and only 13% foiled all attempts to reach them. Similar findings were found in sea cliff nests in Iceland, Norway and Scotland. White-tailed eagles are more vulnerable to


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: direct persecution than golden eagles since most nests are highly accessible for white-tailed eagle but not for golden eagles which usually nest in mountainous, precipitously rocky terrain, in contrast to sea cliff nests of which 67-87% were found to be accessible. Before firearms were widely available in Scotland and Norway automatic traps were utilized wherein carrion was laid out to entice an eagle with a person hiding in a near subterranean trap waited until the eagle was distracted, at that point grabbing the eagle by the leg. Petrified by the darkness once drug below, white-tailed eagles apparently offer no resistance


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: once caught. However, habitat had to be favorable and even when conditions were correct, success at capture as such was low. The main driver of declines before firearms and industrialized poisons was habitat alterations. After about the 1840s, firearms became available and declines accelerated considerably, by 1916 the last nesting pair in all of Britain attempted to raise a brood on the isle of Skye. While other ecological factors have been considered in this decline, stringent research has shown the extirpation here was fully correlated to intentional, rapacious predation by man. Many gamekeepers poisoned and shot eagles and destroyed nearly


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: any nest they encountered. A few more enlightened landowners forbade the killing of eagles but there's evidence that the gamekeepers sometimes chose to destroy eagles regardless of the rule of law. On deer forest, eagles were tolerated later than in other British areas, but destructions accelerated there by the late 1800s. Also many white-tailed eagles were poisoned by shepherds who considered it enemy of the flock. Elsewhere in Europe, persecution rates in the 19th and 20th century were just as drastic. In Romania, more than 400 white-tailed eagles were killed in 2 decades by a single hunter. In Norway between


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: 1959 and 1968, an average of 169 eagles were killed annually; with a maximum of 221 in 1961. Around the year 1860, an author estimated that about 400 were being killed annually throughout Germany. Between 1946 and 1972 in eastern Germany, a total of 194 dead white-tailed eagles were found, about half of them shot, after governmental protection of the species had been instituted there. Top predators, especially those that are aquatic and coastal, are almost immediately vulnerable upon exposure to DDT. Therefore, white-tailed eagles are highly susceptible to this pesticide, as are similar fish eaters, such as otters, and


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: bird eaters, such as peregrine falcons. Distributed by man nearly across the developed world as an insecticide in the 1950s, by the early 1970s, authors found many species of bird experienced reduced egg shell thickness. Thus the incubating parents inadvertently crushed their normally hardy eggs and, in turn, many water birds and raptors had their nesting success dropped precipitously. In fact, the species was found to have the highest concentration of DDT of any European raptor. Egg shell thickness was found down from prior to 1935 from 1969 to 1975 down to only , a 16% reduction. In Sweden, coastal


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: birds were considerably more effected by DDT than the inland birds of Lapland. In eastern Germany, where pesticide use was heavy, only 1 out of 28 nesting attempts were known to succeed in 1976. Overall, about 75% nesting attempts failed in western Germany, Finland and the Swedish Baltic area. Other pollutants carelessly put into the white-tailed eagles natural environments included heavy metal contaminations which affect them through bioaccumulation. These were recorded in white-tailed eagles, to 6600 mg/g, compared to about 2500 mg/g in peregrine falcons & only 100-280 g in grey partridges ("Perdix perdix") and ring-necked pheasants. Overall, their mercury


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: levels were reported as the highest in any Swedish animal. Like humans, white-tailed eagles are most often threatened by methylmercury when consuming fish (and water birds) with high levels of mercury. The amount of white-tailed eagles killed by mercury poisoning rose from 6.4% during 1946-1957 to 24.6% in 1958-1965 in Germany. It was estimated that pesticides and metal contaminations reduced the white-tailed eagle population in Hungary from 1957 to 1967 by about 50-60%. Lead poisoning, caused by lead bullets left in carcasses that the white-tailed eagles will eat in winter, is also another issue faced by the species. Fatal and


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: near fatal levels of lead exposure continues to be a major issue in the 21st century in many parts of the range, at least from Poland to Hokkaido. Despite regulations on their usage, lead and mercury poisonings were found to be the cause of death of 61 white-tailed eagles found in Germany from 1993 to 2000. In order to offset the numerous chemical and metal based poisoning that humans were inadvertently exposing the species to, a widespread operation was undertaken to feed white-tailed eagles uncontaminated foods in Sweden. Here, carcasses from slaughterhouses placed in areas free of human disturbance, usually


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: fields, bogs, marshes or frozen lakes, from October to March, as after these months, the eagles will ignore carrion in favor of capture of live prey. Apparently, breeding success improved from 29% to 44% when program began. In southern Sweden, 5 of 11 breeding pairs included a bird breeding for the first time and 2 previously unoccupied territories were taken over by new pairs, thus winter feeding was seemingly highly beneficial to immature eagles. Similar winter feeding stations set up in Finland from 1972 to 1978. In Sweden, brood size has varied from 1.3 per nest prior to 1950, down


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: to 0.3 in 1965-1985. Now the brood sizes have increased, at somewhat less than 1 brood size on average, but still somewhat less productivity than historical numbers. In several parts of the European range, especially southern Scandinavia and central Europe, protections have allowed white-tailed eagles to recolonized former parts of their range. Since recolonizing Schlewsig-Holstein, Germany in 1947, they’ve increased slowly; from 1975-2008, increases were recorded at 6.7% in population per annum and enjoyed much higher productivity. Perhaps particularly key has been conserving white-tailed eagle habitats. In the 1970s, 75% of the potential and current white-tailed eagle territories became protected


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: in Schleswig-Holstein. In Poland, 78% of forests are state owned and clusters of 10 or more trees are preserved around each white-tailed eagle eyrie. The Swedish Forest Service limits logging activities to within of a nest tree which expands to within during breeding season; however this acts not as a law but only as an advisory where the eyries are located on private land. Limits on recreational activity were established as these can disturb white-tailed eagle nests especially in well-trodden countries such as Germany and Sweden, but even in the remote Russian Kandalaksha. In northern Finland, artificial eyries were constructed


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: for their use. Out of 19, 14 were visited by white-tailed eagle, eggs laid in at least 9 and 2 ultimately fledged young. Regulations have been established on direct use of pesticides that harm white-tailed eagles such as DDT, however because of political variances, despite widespread monitoring, not at all areas are strictly protected. Similarly, regulations on lead usage in hunting has been inconsistent in comparison with the stronger efforts to ban lead bullet fragments in North America. The residuals of mercury from various fungicides (now banned), air particles and pollution run-off water have caused huge concentrations in fish of


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: many different areas, which continues to effect humans as well as entire ecosystems of wildlife. Unfortunately, methylmercury is still difficult to manage in Europe as it is elsewhere. The first attempts at reintroduction in Scotland were in 1959 in Glen Etive, Argyll abortively and then a better informed but also ultimately unsuccessful attempt on Fair Isle in 1968. The isle of Rùm in the inner Hebrides was chosen for the first Scottish reintroduction because of its large size () with access to the isle of Skye (where last native pair known in Britain last bred in 1916) and it is


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: only from the mainland. Also Rùm hosts large seabird colonies that make for viable prey, including eider, shag ("Phalacrocorax aristotelis"), auks and gulls; as well as one of the few in Britain of manx shearwater ("Puffinus puffinus"). Furthermore, mainly as a source of carrion, were a population of around 1500 red deer and 200 feral goats; otters and gulls were also numerous and available to kleptoparasitize. The birds to be used for reintroduction were gathered as nestlings from western Norway, as this is the nearest native breeding population. The young eagles were either kept in high grade fowl cages or


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: tethered all within reach of an artificial eyrie, cover and feeding stations. Direct human contact, which the naturally wild young eagles tended to shun anyway, is minimal short of veterinary care. Releases were carried by taking bird out tethered, wearing a leather hood to prevent imprinting and then releasing with a radio-monitor. Most of the eagles, despite no direct parenting, turned out to be competent hunters within a couple of weeks or do well at stealing meals, including from other released eagles. Despite some dying before release due to illness and some found dead subsequent to release, most survived. A


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: total of 95 birds were received for the Rùm reintroductions and 82 were successfully released between 1975 and 1987. The white-tailed eagle now breeds throughout the Western Isles and the mainland coast of Wester Ross. However, a low reproductive output of reintroduced Scottish eagles was recorded in 1996, and it was advocated that additional releases were needed. In August 2008, an additional fifteen chicks raised in Norway were released at a secret location in Fife, in expectation of reintroducing the species to the east coast of Scotland as well. Breeding success of reintroduced birds in Scotland (from 1975-1985 & 1993-1998)


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: is moderate compared overall in species, in 1982-1992: productivity was 0.38, with a mean fledgling number 1.61. In comparison, for the years 1993-2000, productivity was 0.61 and fledgling number was 1.48, while in 2000-2007, productivity was 0.7 and mean fledgling number 1.44. Overall in Britain, there are estimated 36 breeding pairs in 2006 and 40 in 2008. Juvenile survival rates are somewhat low overall compared to other areas. Reintroduction efforts succeeded in the Bohemia area of the Czech Republic as well, where the biologists similarly followed the guidelines of guarding of occupied eyries and provision of safe foods. The white-tailed


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: eagle is also being reintroduced to Ireland, where its Irish name of Iolar Mara (sea eagle) reflects its historic association with the island's long coast. The Irish program was begun in the summer of 2007. Fifteen to twenty young eagles from Norway are being released each spring into the Killarney National Park in the south-west of Ireland. This comprehensive project will last a number of years, with many more eagles being released. The species has a rich history on the island but became extinct in Ireland in the 1900s due to persecution from landowners. The last pair bred on the


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: coast of Mayo in 1912. In 2007, a hundred local sheep farmers gathered at Kerry airport to protest the eagles' arrival. Irish Farming Association Hill Committee chairman Mr O'Leary said he had no doubt the eagles would take lambs. Since their reintroduction seven eagles have been confirmed poisoned in County Kerry, two suspected of having been poisoned, and one shot. A 13th eagle released in Kerry was shot in Northern Ireland. Twenty more eagles were due for release in 2010. However, Dr Allan Mee, in charge of the sea eagle project, stated "the continuing loss of eagles to poisoning had


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: cast a shadow over the future of the ambitious programme." The first white-tailed eagle breeding pair since 1912 nested 100 years later on Lough Derg (Loch Deirgeirt), marking a great success for the Irish reintroduction programme. In early May 2013, the first eaglets were born in Ireland since the re-introduction programme began; one in the Killarney National Park and two in County Clare. In Spring 2015, five nests hatched chicks in 4 counties in Ireland - Clare, Cork, Galway and Kerry. Densities of white-tailed eagles have greatly increased in some parts of the range due to conservation efforts. Some threats


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: still remain, notably illegal persecution by gamebird shooting and egg thieves in Scotland. In prime habitat in north Europe, distance between breeding pairs can be only (even as little as locally) such as in Norway, density at one Polish forest were even reported at 6-7 in each square kilometer. In the late 1990s, it was estimated that Russia held as many as 5,000-7,000 pairs, with around 175 pairs in Greenland and almost 3,500 pairs in Europe, led by Norway (1,500+ pairs), European Russia (900-1,100), Poland (180-240), Germany (140-150) and Sweden (100-150). The largest population in Europe is found along the


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: coast of Norway. The Norwegian population in 2008 was claimed to have stood at 9,000–11,000 pairs, much larger than prior estimates, and indeed this may refer to the total number of individuals rather than total breeding pairs. Even in the early 1980s, Norway maintained a population greater than all other European white-tailed eagle populations combined. In isolation, Turkey holds merely 10-30 pairs. Over 500 winter in Japan, mainly Hokkaido, but this island may have only 20 pairs breeding. Strong increases were recorded in Croatia, with no less than 135 breeding pairs estimated in Croatia by 2009, up from only 25-30


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: in 2007. Beyond the threat of chemical poisonings, a new threat from wind turbines is emerging with significant mortality (considerably in excess of the area's population productivity) occurring at the Smøla Wind Farm in Norway. From 2005 to 2010, 36 birds killed by wind farm on isle of Smøla, including 4 of 45 recent radio-tagged fledglings. Breeding attempts within of the wind farm were considerably reduced in success. The white-tailed eagles of the region seem to have no behavioral avoidance capabilities, as in many raptors, since the blades are not visible at close range. In a recovering population in north-east


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: Germany, a trade-off between the distance to neighbouring breeding pairs and to the nearest water body (the birds' favoured foraging habitat) was found. This indicates that pairs may be increasingly selecting suboptimal habitats to reduce competition as the population increases, and has implications in the management of such populations. White-tailed eagles have apparently re-established themselves as a native breeding species in numerous countries: Austria (now breeding in extreme northwestern portions), Denmark (where broadly re-established as breeders), the Czech Republic and Slovakia (scattered pairs in both now with reintroductions factoring in the Czech Republic), Hungary, and Bulgaria. In Demark, in just


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: 16 years, the breeding population has increased from none to at least 37 pairs by 2011. This is dwarfed by the re-establishment (starting from none in the 1970s) in Hungary, where 114 out of 166 breeding pairs by 2007 were successful producing altogether 182 fledged young. Wintering Hungarian population may now reach about a thousand eagles. In Lithuania, back in 1985 no pairs were known to have bred but established pairs numbered 90 by 2007 and swelled to 120 by 2011. On 22 May 2006, it was announced that a pair of white-tailed eagles breeding in the Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: in the Netherlands had arrived on their own, not as a reintroduction. This was the first time the bird has bred in the Netherlands in living memory. In 2007, 2008 and 2009 the eagles returned to their nest. In 2010, it turned out that the white-tailed eagle was also breeding in the Zwarte Meer nature district and in the Lauwersmeer area. There is also a confirmed case of breeding white-tailed eagles in the Biesbosch. Currently (2017), there are around ten pairs breeding spread over Dutch country. Studies of microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA in white-tailed eagles from north-central Europe have shown


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: that the recovering European population has retained appreciable amounts of genetic diversity, implying low risk of inbreeding depression (a serious concern in species with low population density). Therefore, recovery of this formerly endangered species is a true success story for nature conservation. The story also shows how local protection of a species can be successful and important for preserving the species' evolutionary potential. In total, as of 2013, the IUCN estimated the world population of white-tailed eagles at 20,000-49,999 individuals. WTE are prominent in ancient Saxon folkore and artwork with many landmarks named after the species It is believed to


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: be the White eagle shown in the Polish coat of arms and in the Serbian coat of arms. The sea eagle is often blazoned grasping a fish (usually a pike) in its talons, distinguishing it from an ordinary eagle. On Orkney, Scotland, sea eagle bones have been found in 6000-year-old burial mounds, among them the Tomb of the Eagles, suggesting that the birds were revered by the prehistoric people there, a belief strengthened by the Pictish stone carvings of sea eagles from Orkney. Cut marks have been found in white-tailed eagle talons in Krapina, suggesting Neanderthals' use of jewellery. In


title: "White-tailed eagle" content: the Shetland Isles, Scotland, fishermen believed that as soon as a sea eagle appeared fish would rise to the surface, belly up; this led to some fishermen using eagle fat, smeared on their bait, to increase their catch. White-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle ("Haliaeetus albicilla") is a very large eagle widely distributed across Eurasia. As are all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diurnal raptors such as hawks, kites, and harriers. One of up to eleven members in the genus "Haliaeetus", which are commonly called sea eagles, it is not infrequently also


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: White-bellied sea eagle The white-bellied sea eagle ("Haliaeetus leucogaster"), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related to Sanford's sea eagle of the Solomon Islands, and the two are considered a superspecies. A distinctive bird, the adult white-bellied sea eagle has a white head, breast, under-wing coverts and tail. The upper parts are grey and the black under-wing flight feathers contrast with the white coverts. The tail is short and wedge-shaped as in all "Haliaeetus" species. Like many


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: raptors, the female is slightly larger than the male, and can measure up to long with a wingspan of up to , and weigh . Immature birds have brown plumage, which is gradually replaced by white until the age of five or six years. The call is a loud goose-like honking. Resident from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to Australia on coasts and major waterways, the white-bellied sea eagle breeds and hunts near water, and fish form around half of its diet. Opportunistic, it consumes carrion and a wide variety of animals. Although rated as "Least Concern" globally,


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: it has declined in parts of southeast Asia such as Thailand, and southeastern Australia. It is ranked as "Threatened" in Victoria and "Vulnerable" in South Australia and Tasmania. Human disturbance to its habitat is the main threat, both from direct human activity near nests which impacts on breeding success, and from removal of suitable trees for nesting. The white-bellied sea eagle is revered by indigenous people in many parts of Australia, and is the subject of various folk tales throughout its range. The white-bellied sea eagle was first described by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, although John


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: Latham had made notes on the species in 1781, from a specimen obtained in February 1780 at Princes Island off the westernmost cape of Java during Captain Cook's last voyage. Its specific name is derived from the Ancient Greek "leuko-" 'white', and "gaster" 'belly'. Its closest relative is the little-known Sanford's sea eagle of the Solomon Islands. These form a superspecies, and as is usual in other sea eagle superspecies, one (the white-bellied sea eagle) has a white head, as opposed to the other species' dark head. The bill and eyes are dark, and the talons are dark yellow as


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: in all Southern Hemisphere sea eagles. Both these species have at least some dark colouration in their tails, though this may not always be clearly visible in the white-bellied sea eagle. The nucleotide sequences of the cytochrome b gene of the two sea eagles were among those analysed in a 1996 study. Although they differ greatly in appearance and ecology, their genetic divergence of 0.3% indicates that the ancestors of the two forms might have diverged as recently as 150,000 years ago. The study authors conclude that although the genetic divergence is more consistent with subspecies, the distinctness in appearance


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: and behaviour warrants the two being retained as separate species. Mitochondrial sequence of the cytochrome b locus differs very slightly from that of Sanford's sea eagle suggesting a relatively recent divergence after New Guinea-based white-bellied sea eagles colonised the Solomon Islands. The white-bellied sea eagle's affinities beyond the Sanford's sea eagle are a little less clear; molecular data indicate that it is one of four species of tropical sea eagle (along with the African fish eagle and the Madagascar fish eagle), while allozyme data indicate it might have a closer relationship with the sea eagles of the northern hemisphere. A


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: further molecular study published in 2005 showed the white-bellied and Sanford's sea eagles to be basal to the four fish eagles (the two mentioned above plus the two hitherto untested species of the genus "Ichthyophaga"). As well as white-bellied sea eagle and white-breasted sea eagle, other recorded names include white-bellied fish-hawk, white-eagle, and grey-backed sea eagle. The white-bellied sea eagle has a white head, rump and underparts, and dark or slate-grey back and wings. In flight, the black flight feathers on the wings are easily seen when the bird is viewed from below. The large, hooked bill is a leaden


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: blue-grey with a darker tip, and the irides are dark brown. The cere is also lead grey. The legs and feet are yellow or grey, with long black talons (claws). Unlike those of eagles of the genus "Aquila", the legs are not feathered. The sexes are similar. Males are long and weigh . Females are slightly larger, at and . The wingspan ranges from . A 2004 study on 37 birds from Australia and Papua New Guinea (3 °S to 50 °S) found that birds could be sexed reliably on size, and that birds from latitudes further south were larger


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: than those from the north. There is no seasonal variation in plumage. The moulting pattern of the white-bellied sea eagle is poorly known. It appears to take longer than a year to complete, and can be interrupted and later resumed from the point of interruption. The wings are modified when gliding so that they rise from the body at an angle, but are closer to horizontal further along the wingspan. In silhouette, the comparatively long neck, head and beak stick out from the front almost as far as the tail does behind. For active flight, the white-bellied sea eagle alternates


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: strong deep wing-beats with short periods of gliding. A young white-bellied sea eagle in its first year is predominantly brown, with pale cream-streaked plumage on their head, neck, nape and rump areas. The plumage becomes more infiltrated with white until it acquires the complete adult plumage by the fourth or fifth year. The species breeds from around six years of age onwards. The lifespan is thought to be around 30 years. The loud goose-like honking call is a familiar sound, particularly during the breeding season; pairs often honk in unison, and often carry on for some time when perched. The


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: male's call is higher-pitched and more rapid than that of the female. Australian naturalist David Fleay observed that the call is among the loudest and furthest-carrying of all Australian bird calls, in stark contrast to the relatively quiet calls of the wedge-tailed eagle. Adult white-bellied sea eagles are unmistakable and unlikely to be confused with any other bird. Immature birds can be confused with wedge-tailed eagles. However, the plumage of the latter is darker, the tail longer, and the legs feathered. They might also be confused with the black-breasted buzzard ("Hamirostra melanosternon"), but this species is much smaller, has white


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: patches on the wings, and has a more undulating flight. In India, the Egyptian vulture has white plumage, but is smaller and has a whiter back and wings. The white tail of the white-bellied sea eagle in flight distinguishes it from other species of large eagles. In the Philippines, it can be confused with the Philippine eagle, which can be distinguished by its crest; immature white-bellied sea eagles resemble immature grey-headed fish eagles, but can be identified by their more wholly dark brown underparts and flight feathers, and wedge-shaped tail. The white-bellied sea eagle is found regularly from Mumbai (sometimes


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: north to Gujarat, and in the past in the Lakshadweep Islands) eastwards in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in southern Asia, through all of coastal Southeast Asia including Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Indochina, the main and offshore islands of the Philippines, and southern China including Hong Kong, Hainan and Fuzhou, eastwards through New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago, and Australia. In the northern Solomons it is restricted to Nissan Island, and replaced elsewhere by Sanford's sea eagle. In Victoria, where it is otherwise scarce, it is locally more common at Corner Inlet and Gippsland Lakes. Similarly in South Australia, it


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: is most abundant along the north coast of Kangaroo Island. The range extends to the islands of Bass Strait and Tasmania, and it is thought able to move between the islands and the mainland. There is one unconfirmed record from Lord Howe Island and several from New Zealand. They are a common sight in coastal areas, but may also be seen well inland (It is reportedly seen at the Panna Tiger Reserve in central India, nearly away from the sea shore) The white-bellied sea eagle is generally sedentary and territorial, although it may travel long distances. They have been reported


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: travelling upriver to hunt for flying foxes ("Pteropus"). Populations in inland Australia move around as inland bodies of water appear and then dry up. In one instance, a pair came to breed at Lake Albacutya in northwestern Victoria after the lake had been empty for 30 years. The species is easily disturbed by humans, especially when nesting, and may desert nesting sites as a result. It is found in greater numbers in areas with little or no human impact or interference. The white-bellied sea eagle is generally territorial; some birds form permanent pairs that inhabit territories throughout the year, while


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: others are nomadic. The species is monogamous, with pairs remaining together until one bird dies, after which the surviving bird quickly seeks a new mate. This can lead to some nest sites being continuously occupied for many years (one site in Mallacoota was occupied for over fifty years). Immature birds are generally dispersive, with many moving over away from the area they were raised. One juvenile raised in Cowell, South Australia was reported away at Fraser Island in Queensland. A study of the species in Jervis Bay showed increases in the numbers of immature and subadult birds in autumn, although


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: it was unclear whether these were locally fledged or (as was considered more likely) an influx of young birds born and raised elsewhere in Australia. Birds are often seen perched high in a tree, or soaring over waterways and adjacent land. They are most commonly encountered singly or in pairs. Small groups of white-bellied sea eagles sometimes gather if there is a plentiful source of food such as a carcass or fish offal on a ship. Much of the white-bellied sea eagle's behaviour, particularly breeding, remains poorly known. The breeding season varies according to location—it has been recorded in the


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: dry season in the Trans-Fly region and Central Province of Papua New Guinea, and from June to August in Australia. A pair of white-bellied sea eagles performs skilful displays of flying before copulation: diving, gliding and chasing each other while calling loudly. They may mirror each other, flying apart and copying each other swooping and swerving. A talon-grappling display has been recorded where the pair will fly high before one flips upside down and tries to grapple the other's talons with its own. If successful, the two then plunge cartwheeling before separating as they approach the ground. This behaviour has


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: also been recorded as an aggressive display against a wedge-tailed eagle. The white-bellied sea eagle usually chooses tall trees or man-made pylons to nest in. Often, locations are sought where there is a tall dead tree or high branch with good visibility which can be used as a perch to survey the surrounding area, which is generally a low-lying locale near water with some forest cover. The perch becomes covered in faeces and pellets and animal remains litter the immediate surrounding area. The nest is a large deep bowl constructed of sticks and branches, and lined with such materials as


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: grass or seaweed. Yearly renovations result in nests getting gradually bigger. Nests are generally sited in the forks of large trees overlooking bodies of water. Old nests of wedge-tailed eagles or whistling kites have been renovated and used. Cliffs are also suitable nesting sites, and on islands nests are sometimes built directly on the ground. A breeding pair, with the male being more active, spends three to six weeks building or renovating the nest before laying eggs. Normally a clutch of two dull, white, oval eggs are laid. Measuring 73×55 mm, they are incubated over six weeks before hatching. The


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: young are semi-altricial, and covered in white down when they emerge from the egg. Initially, the male brings food and the female feeds the chicks, but both parents feed the chicks as they grow larger. Although two eggs are laid, it is unusual for two young to be reared successfully to fledging (leaving the nest). One egg may be infertile, or the second chick may die in the nest. If the first clutch is lost, the parents may attempt a second brood. Nestlings have been recorded fledging when 70 to 80 days old, and remaining around the parents' territory for


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: up to six months or until the following breeding season. The white-bellied sea eagle is an opportunistic carnivore and consumes a wide variety of animal prey, including carrion. It often catches a fish by flying low over the water and grasping it in its talons. It prepares for the strike by holding its feet far forward (almost under its chin) and then strikes backwards while simultaneously beating its wings to lift upwards. Generally only one foot is used to seize prey. The white-bellied sea eagle may also dive at a 45 degree angle from its perch and briefly submerge to


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: catch fish near the water surface. While hunting over water on sunny days, it often flies directly into the sun or at right angles to it, seemingly to avoid casting shadows over the water and hence alerting potential prey. The white-bellied sea eagle hunts mainly aquatic animals, such as fish, turtles and sea snakes, but it takes birds, such as little penguins, Eurasian coots and shearwaters, and mammals (including flying foxes) as well. In the Bismarck Archipelago it has been reported feeding on two species of possum, the northern common cuscus and common spotted cuscus. It is a skilled hunter,


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: and will attack prey up to the size of a swan. They also feed on carrion such as dead sheep, birds and fish found along the waterline, as well as raiding fishing nets and following cane harvesters. They harass smaller raptors such as swamp harriers, whistling kites, brahminy kites and ospreys, forcing them to drop any food that they are carrying. Other birds victimised include silver and Pacific gulls, cormorants and Australasian gannets. There is one record of a white-bellied sea eagle seizing a gannet when unsuccessful in obtaining its prey. They may even steal food from their own species,


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: including their mates. The white-bellied sea eagle attacks these birds by striking them with outstretched talons from above or by flying upside down underneath the smaller predator and snatching the prey, all the while screeching shrilly. Southern fur seals have also been targeted for their fish. White-bellied sea eagles feed alone, in pairs, or in family groups. A pair may cooperate to hunt. Prey can be eaten while the bird is flying or when it lands on a raised platform such as its nest. The white-bellied sea eagle skins the victim as it eats it. It is exceptionally efficient at


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: digesting its food, and disgorges only tiny pellets of fragmented bone, fur and feathers. A 2006 study of inland bodies of water around Canberra where wedge-tailed eagles and white-bellied sea eagles share territories showed little overlap in the range of prey taken. Wedge-tailed eagles took rabbits, various macropods, terrestrial birds such as cockatoos and parrots, and various passerines including magpies and starlings. White-bellied sea eagles caught fish, water-dwelling reptiles such as the eastern long-necked turtle and Australian water dragon, and waterbirds such as ducks, grebes and coots. Both species preyed on the maned duck. Rabbits constituted only a small fraction


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: of the white-bellied sea eagle's diet. Despite nesting near each other, the two species seldom interacted, as the wedge-tailed eagles hunted away from water and the white-bellied sea eagles foraged along the lake shores. However, conflict with wedge-tailed eagles over nesting sites in remnant trees has been recorded in Tasmania. The white-bellied sea eagle is listed as being of "Least Concern" by the IUCN. There are an estimated 10 thousand to 100 thousand individuals, although there seems to be a decline in numbers. They have become rare in Thailand and some other parts of southeast Asia. They are relatively abundant


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: in Hong Kong, where the population increased from 39 to 57 birds between 2002 and 2009. A field study on Kangaroo Island in South Australia showed that nesting pairs in areas of high human disturbance (as defined by clearing of landscape and high human activity) had lower breeding success rates. In the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, nests have been vacated as human activities have encroached on the eagles' territories. Elsewhere, the clearing of trees suitable for nesting has seen it largely disappear locally, such as the removal of stands of "Casuarina equisetifolia" in Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh in


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: India. In India, nest densities of about one per 4.32 km of coastline have been noted in Sindhudurg and one per 3.57 km (45 nests along 161 km) in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. They also nest on Netrani Island, where about a 100 birds were noted in 1875 (then known as Pigeon Island) by Allan Octavian Hume who noted that this was perhaps the largest breeding colony of the species. In 2000, the disturbance to the island from torpedo-firing exercises conducted by the Indian navy was noted as a threat. Nearly 100 nests have been noted in 2004 on this


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: island. DDT was a widely used pesticide in agriculture that was found to have significant adverse effects on wildlife, particularly egg thinning and subsequent breakage in birds of prey. A review of DDT's impact on Australian raptors between 1947 and 1993 found that the average egg-shell thickness had decreased by 6%. This average level of thinning was not thought likely to result in significantly more breakage overall, however individual clutches that had been even thinner might have broken. The white-bellied sea eagle was one of the more affected species, probably due to its feeding in areas heavily treated with pesticide


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: such as swamps. DDT use peaked in 1973, but was no longer approved after 1987 and its use had effectively ceased by 1989. The white-bellied sea eagle is listed under the "marine" and "migratory" categories which give it protected status under Australia's federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. As a mainly coastal species, it is vulnerable to habitat destruction in Australia's increasingly populated and urbanised coastal areas, particularly in the south and east of the country, where it appears to have declined in numbers. However, there may have been an increase in population inland, secondary to the creation


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: of reservoirs, dams and weirs, and the spread of the introduced common carp ("Cyprinus carpio"). However, it is rare along the Murray River where it was once common. It is also listed as "Threatened" under Victoria's Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988), with possibly fewer than 100 breeding pairs remaining in the state. On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, the white-bellied sea eagle is listed as "vulnerable". There are fewer than 1000 adult birds in Tasmania, where the species is listed as "Vulnerable" under Schedule 3.1 of the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995. In


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: Tasmania it is threatened by nest disturbance, loss of suitable nesting habitat, shooting, poisoning, trapping, and collision with power lines and wind turbines, as well as entanglement and environmental pollution. Estuaries are a favoured habitat, and these are often subject to environmental disturbance. white-bellied sea eagles have been observed to increase their hunting ranges to include salmon fish farms, but the effect of this on breeding success is unknown. The white-bellied sea eagle was important to different tribes of indigenous people across Australia. The guardian animal of the Wreck Bay aboriginal community, it is also the official emblem of the


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens in the Jervis Bay Territory. The community considered localities around Booderee National Park to be connected with it. A local Sydney name was "gulbi", and the bird was the totem of Colebee, the late 18th century indigenous leader of the Cadigal people. The white-bellied sea eagle is important to the Mak Mak people of the floodplains to the southwest of Darwin in the northern Territory, who recognised its connection with "good country". It is their totem and integrally connected to their land. The term "Mak Mak" is their name for both the species and


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: themselves. The Umbrawarra Gorge Nature Park was a Dreaming site of the bird, in this area known as "Kuna-ngarrk-ngarrk". It was similarly symbolic to the Tasmanian indigenous people—"Nairanaa" was one name used there. Known as "Manulab" to the people of Nissan Island, the white-bellied sea eagle is considered special and killing it is forbidden. Its calls at night are said to foretell danger, and seeing a group of calling eagles flying overhead is a sign that someone has died. Local Malay folk tales tell of the white-bellied sea eagle screaming to warn the shellfish of the turning of tides, and


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: a local name "burung hamba siput" translates as "slave of the shellfish". Called "Kaulo" in the recently extinct Aka-Bo language, the white-bellied sea eagle was held to be the ancestor of all birds in one Andaman Islands folk tale. On the Maharashtra coast, their name is "kakan" and its call is said to indicate the presence of fish in the sea. They sometimes nest on coconut trees. Owners of the trees destroy the nest to avoid attacks when harvesting the coconuts. The white-bellied sea eagle is featured on the $10,000 Singapore note, which was introduced into circulation on 1 February


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: 1980. It is the emblem of the Malaysian state of Selangor. Malay magnate Loke Wan Tho had a tower built for the sole purpose of observing a white-bellied sea eagle nest in the palace gardens of Istana Bukit Serene in Johor Bahru. Taken in February 1949, the resulting photographs appeared in "The Illustrated London News" in 1954. The bird is the emblem of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league team, chosen at the club's inception in 1947. From 2010, a nesting pair of white-bellied sea eagles have had their attempts at raising chicks filmed live on "EagleCam", with footage on


title: "White-bellied sea eagle" content: display at the nearby Birds Australia Discovery Centre in Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales. After raising one brood, however, their nest collapsed in February 2011. The story attracted statewide attention. White-bellied sea eagle The white-bellied sea eagle ("Haliaeetus leucogaster"), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related to Sanford's sea eagle of the Solomon Islands, and the two are considered a superspecies. A distinctive bird, the adult white-bellied sea eagle has a white head, breast, under-wing coverts


title: "Axel von Fersen the Younger" content: royal family returned to Paris, it was discovered that von Fersen was one of the people who facilitated their escape, and a warrant was put out for his arrest. von Fersen left France and in Koblenz he put himself in touch with Comte d'Artois, the exiled prince, and the former Controller-General, Charles Alexandre de Calonne; together they made plans to convince the other European powers to declare war on France. In Brussels, von Fersen worked out a cypher code and secret methods of writing with Beaumont and Marie-Antoinette: From August 2–14, von Fersen was in Vienna to discuss the situation


title: "European honey buzzard" content: European honey buzzard The European honey buzzard ("Pernis apivorus"), also known as the pern or common pern, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Despite its English name, this species is more closely related to kites of the genera "Leptodon" and "Chondrohierax" than to true buzzards in "Buteo". The binomen is due to Linné. It is derived from Ancient Greek "pernes" περνης, a term used by Aristotle for a bird of prey, and Latin "apivorus" "bee-eating", from "apis", "bee" and "-vorus", "-eating". In fact, bees are much less important than wasps in the birds' diet. The -long honey


title: "European honey buzzard" content: buzzard is larger and longer winged, with a wingspan, when compared to the smaller common buzzard ("Buteo buteo"). It appears longer necked with a small head, and soars on flat wings. It has a longer tail, which has fewer bars than the "Buteo" buzzard, usually with two narrow dark bars and a broad dark subterminal bar. The sexes can be distinguished on plumage, which is unusual for a large bird of prey. The male has a blue-grey head, while the female's head is brown. The female is slightly larger and darker than the male. The soaring jizz is quite diagnostic;


title: "European honey buzzard" content: the wings are held straight with the wing tips horizontal or sometimes slightly pointed down. The head protrudes forwards with a slight kink downwards and sometimes a very angular chest can be seen, similar to a sparrowhawk, although this may not be diagnostic. The angular chest is most pronounced when seen in direct flight with tail narrowed. The call is a clear "peee-lu". The European honey buzzard is a summer migrant to most of Europe and western Asia, wintering in tropical Africa. It is seen in a wide range of habitats, but generally prefers woodland and exotic plantations. Being a


title: "European honey buzzard" content: long distance migrant, the honey buzzard relies on magnetic orientation to find its way south, as well as a visual memory of remarkable geographical features such as mountain ranges and rivers, along the way. It avoids large expanses of water over which it cannot soar. Accordingly, great numbers of honey buzzards can be seen crossing the Mediterranean sea over its narrowest stretches, such as the Gibraltar Strait, the Messina Strait, the Bosphorus, or in Israel. The bird is an uncommon breeder in, and a scarce though increasing migrant to, Britain. Its most well-known summer population is in the New Forest


title: "European honey buzzard" content: (Hampshire) but it is also found in the Tyne Valley (Northumberland), Wareham Forest (Dorset), Swanton Novers Great Wood (Norfolk), the Neath Valleys (South Wales), the Clumber Park area (Nottinghamshire), near Wykeham Forest (North Yorkshire), Haldon Forest Park (Devon) and elsewhere. The similarity in plumage between juvenile European honey buzzard and common buzzard may have arisen as a partial protection against predation by northern goshawks. Although that formidable predator is capable of killing both species, it is likely to be more cautious about attacking the better protected "Buteo" species, with its stronger bill and talons. Similar Batesian mimicry is shown by


title: "European honey buzzard" content: the Asian "Pernis" species, which resemble the "Spizaetus" hawk-eagles. It is sometimes seen soaring in thermals. When flying in wooded vegetation, honey buzzards usually fly quite low and perch in midcanopy, holding the body relatively horizontal with its tail drooping. The bird also hops from branch to branch, each time flapping its wings once, and so emitting a loud clap. The bird often appears restless with much ruffling of the wings and shifting around on its perch. The honey buzzard often inspects possible locations of food from its perch, cocking its head this way and that to get a good


title: "European honey buzzard" content: look at possible food locations. This behaviour is reminiscent of an inquisitive parrot. The honey buzzard breeds in woodland, and is inconspicuous except in the spring, when the mating display includes wing-clapping. Breeding males are fiercely territorial. The clutch typically consists of two eggs, less often one or three. Cainism is rarely observed. It is a specialist feeder, living mainly on the larvae and nests of wasps and hornets, although it will take small mammals, reptiles, and birds. It is the only known predator of the Asian giant hornet. It spends large amounts of time on the forest floor excavating


title: "European honey buzzard" content: wasp nests. It is equipped with long toes and claws adapted to raking and digging, as well as scale-like feathering on its head, thought to be a defence against the stings of its victims. Honey buzzards are thought to have a chemical deterrent in their feathers that protects them from wasp attack. European honey buzzard The European honey buzzard ("Pernis apivorus"), also known as the pern or common pern, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Despite its English name, this species is more closely related to kites of the genera "Leptodon" and "Chondrohierax" than to true buzzards


title: "Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II" content: 8 September, the armistice was made public and a government was set up in southern Italy. What was known as the "Badoglio Government" joined the Allies against the Axis. The main attack, Operation Avalanche, was delivered on 9 September at Salerno. Salerno was chosen for the site of the attack because it was the furthest north that the single-engined fighters based in Sicily could realistically provide cover. Escort carriers also stood off shore to supplement the cover given by land-based aircraft. A subsidiary landing, Operation Slapstick, was also made on the same day at the Italian naval base of Taranto


title: Kazan content: Kazan Kazan (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,243,500, it is the sixth most populous city in Russia. Kazan is one of the largest religious, economic, political, scientific, educational, cultural and sports centers in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia, about east from Moscow. The Kazan Kremlin is a World Heritage Site. The millennium of Kazan was celebrated in 2005. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to brand itself as the "Third Capital"


title: Kazan content: of Russia. In 2009 it was chosen as the "sports capital of Russia" and it still is referred to as such. In 2011, the European Weightlifting Championships were held here. The city hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade, 2014 World Fencing Championships, the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, and is one of the host cities for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and, for the first time in Russia, the official stage of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship under the auspices of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Kazan has also held the World Wushu Championships. In 2018, Kazan became one of


title: Kazan content: the cities where the 2018 FIFA World Cup was held. In 2015, 2.1 million tourists visited Kazan, a 20% increase in comparison with 2014. In 2015 1.5 million tourists visited the Kazan Kremlin, and one million visited the city's hotel and entertainment complex with an aquapark called "Kazan Riviera". The origin of the name Kazan is uncertain. The most accepted legends derive it from the Bulgar (and also modern Tatar) word "qazan", which means 'boiler' or 'cauldron'. Most often appeal to the version of the boiling boiler: the sorcerer advised the Bulgars to build a city where without any fire


title: Kazan content: will boil dug into the ground boiler with water. As a result, a similar place was found on the shore of lake Kaban. One legend claims that the city was named after the river Kazanka, which was named after the son of a Bulgar governor dropped a copper cauldron into it. Other local legends, including research by the Tatar scholar Shigabetdin Marjani, claim that the city was named for the resemblance of the hill on which it sits to an upturned cauldron. Qazan/Kazan was a choice name for the male Turkic/Mongol royalty, most notably that of the Ilkhanid Mongol king,


title: Kazan content: Qazan Khan. It is likely that the city was named after a Mongol/Turkic khan by that name when the city was founded or soon after. According to the official version adopted today, the city was founded more than 1000 years ago. The estimated date of the urban settlement on the site of Kazan is 1004-1005 years. The reason for this dating is found during excavations in the Kazan Kremlin Czech coin, dated by the Board of St. Wenceslaus (presumably, coinage 929-930 years) and the earliest Czech coin, the remains of masonry and wooden city fence, handicrafts and utensils (Hungarian type


title: Kazan content: lining, women's beads, etc.), as well as other artifacts with less obvious dating. According to official statements, experts from 20 cities of Russia and 22 countries of the world were involved in the study of findings related to the age of Kazan. Kazan was a border post between Volga Bulgaria and two Finnish tribes-Mari and Udmurt. Another vexatious question is where the citadel was built originally. Archaeological explorations have produced evidence of urban settlement in three parts of the modern city: in the Kremlin; in Bişbalta at the site of the modern Zilantaw monastery; and near the Qaban lake. The


title: Kazan content: oldest of these seems to be the Kremlin. After the Mongols ravaged the Bolğar and Bilär territories in the 13th century, the surviving Bulgars recovered in numbers and a small number of Kipchaks were assimilated from which they adopted their language (the so-called Bulgarism), or Kipchaks and Bulgars mixed to create a modern Kazan-Tatar population. Some Tatars also went to Lithuania, brought by Vytautas the great. Kazan became the center of the Principality, which was dependent on The Golden Horde. In the XIII—XIV centuries, Kazan was growing, becoming an important trade and political center within The Golden Horde. The growth


title: Kazan content: of the city was also promoted by the successful geographical location at the intersection of major trade routes connecting East and West. During the same period, the minting of currency began with the indication of the place of minting—"Bulgar al-Jadid", that is, a New Bulgar. In 1438, the Bulgar fortress Kazan (ISKE-Kazan) was captured by the ousted Golden Horde Khan Ulugh Muhammad, who killed the local Prince Swan and moved the fortress to a modern place (according to Russian Chronicles). The city became the capital of the Kazan Khanate. The city Bazaar, Taş Ayaq (stone foot) has become the most


title: Kazan content: important shopping center in the region, especially for furniture. Handicraft production also flourished, as the city gained a reputation for its leather and gold products, as well as the wealth of its palaces and mosques. Kazan had trade relations with Moscow, Crimea, Turkey and other regions. As a result of the Siege of Kazan in 1552, Tsar Ivan the Terrible conquered the city and massacred the majority of the population. During the subsequent governorship of Alexander Gorbatyi-Shuisky, most of the Kazan's Tatar residents were forcibly Christianized or deported, the Kerashen Tatars. Mosques and palaces were ruined. The surviving Tatar population


title: Kazan content: was moved to a place away from the city and this place was forcibly settled by Russian farmers and soldiers. Tatars in the Russian service were settled in the Tatar Bistäse settlement near the city's wall. Later Tatar merchants and handicraft masters also settled there. During this period, Kazan was largely destroyed as a result of several great fires. After one of them in 1579, the icon "Our Lady of Kazan" was discovered in the city. In the early 17th century, at the beginning of the Time of Troubles in Russia, the Tsardom of Kazan declared independence under the leadership


title: Kazan content: of voyvoda Nikanor Shulgin with the help of the Russian population, but this independence was suppressed by Kuzma Minin in 1612. In 1708, the Tsardom of Kazan was abolished, and Kazan became the seat of Kazan Governorate. After Peter the Great's visit, the city became a center of shipbuilding for the Caspian fleet. The major Russian poet Gavrila Derzhavin was born in Kazan in 1743, the son of a poor country squire of Tatar ancestry though himself having a thoroughly Russian identity. Before the building of modern dams, low-lying areas were regularly flooded in April and May. Kazan suffered major


title: Kazan content: fires in 1595, 1672, 1694, 1742, 1749, 1757 1744, 1815 and 1842. Kazan was largely destroyed in 1774 as a result of the Pugachev revolt (1774–1776), an uprising by border troops and peasants led by the Don Cossack ataman (Captain) Yemelyan Pugachev, but the city, formerly largely of timber construction, was soon afterwards rebuilt, using stone and according to a grid pattern plan, during the reign of Catherine the Great. Catherine also decreed that mosques could again be built in Kazan, the first being Marjani Mosque. At the beginning of the 19th century Kazan State University and printing press were


title: Kazan content: founded by Alexander I. It became an important center for Oriental Studies in Russia. The Qur'an was first printed in Kazan in 1801. Kazan became an industrial center and peasants migrated there to join its industrial workforce. In 1875, a horse tramway appeared; 1899 saw the installation of a tramway. After the Russian Revolution of 1905, Tatars were allowed to revive Kazan as a Tatar cultural center. The first Tatar theater and the first Tatar newspaper appeared. In 1917, Kazan became one of the revolution centers. In 1918, Kazan was the capital of the Idel-Ural State, which was suppressed by


title: Kazan content: the Bolshevist government. In the Kazan Operation of August 1918, it was briefly occupied by Czechoslovak Legions. In 1920, Kazan became the center of Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In the 1920s and 1930s, most of the city's mosques and churches were destroyed, as occurred elsewhere in the USSR. After the Treaty of Rapallo (1922) until 1933, the German and the Russian army operated together the Kama tank school in Kazan. During World War II, many industrial plants and factories to the west were relocated in Kazan, making the city a center of the military industry, producing tanks and planes.


title: Kazan content: After the war Kazan consolidated as an industrial and scientific center. In 1979, the city's population reached one million. In the late 1980s and in the 1990s, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazan again became the center of Tatar culture and identity, and separatist tendencies intensified. With the return of capitalism, Kazan became one of the most important centers of the Russian Federation. The city went from 10th to 8th position in population ranking of Russian cities. In the early 2000s, the city earned the right to host both the 2013 Summer Universiade and 2018 FIFA World Cup.


title: Kazan content: Since 2000, the city has been undergoing a total renovation. The historical center—including the Kremlin—has been rebuilt, however a large number of the city's historical districts were completely demolished in the renovation. Kazan celebrated its millennium in 2005, after a city-organized historical commission settled on 1005 as the official year of the city's founding. During the millennium celebrations, one of the largest mosque in Russia, Qolsharif, was dedicated in the Kazan Kremlin, the holiest copy of Our Lady of Kazan was returned to the city, the Millennium Bridge was inaugurated that year, and the Kazan Metro began operation. The government


title: Kazan content: of the Russian Federation released the Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan". In 2010, for the preparations to the 2013 Universiade, Kazan began even more renovation by modernizing its airport, fixing the streets, enhancing public transport, and adopting Russian, English, and Tatar languages in all transportation, large stores, and shopping centers. The historical symbol of Kazan is the mythical dragon-like creature Zilant, often mentioned in legends. For example, when numerous snakes and reptiles severely hampered the development of the city, the hunters went in search of the King of snakes and defeated him, according to another version,


title: Kazan content: the residents of the city bought off the giant snake with gold, after which all the snakes left the city. Another legend says that the giant dragon-like serpent always guarded the Khan's treasures, and that it still protects the hidden wealth before the capture of the city in the secret caves. Historically, it is true that snakes were once numerous in the Kazan region, but then their number has decreased dramatically. The first official coat of arms of Kazan was approved on 18 October 1781 and was described as "black snake under the crown of gold, Kazan, red wings, white


title: Kazan content: field". In 1926, the country introduced a ban on such heraldry. In the 1980s, we again started talking about the coat of arms of Kazan, and in the 1990s Kazan Zilant in various styles began to appear in print media. Modern graphics of the emblem and flag appeared in 2005—in a silver field on the green earth a black dragon with red wings and tongue, with gold paws, claws and eyes, topped with a gold crown. The shield is crowned with a Kazan cap. According to the traditions of heraldry, the dragon symbolizes power, wisdom and invincibility, the earth—life and


title: Kazan content: wealth, the crown-development, and the cap above the shield-the capital of the city. Kazan is the capital of the republic. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the city of republic significance of Kazan—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of republic significance of Kazan is incorporated as Kazan Urban Okrug. Kazan is divided into seven districts: Kazan is one of the largest industrial and financial centers of Russia, and a leading city of the Volga economic region in construction and accumulated investment. City's Gross Regional