Breeding biology of imperial eagle pairs (Aquila heliaca) on the Heves-Plain

• Published in: Természetvédelmi Közlemények
• Main Authors: Hák, Flóra, Misik, Tamás, Sasvári, János
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Hungarian
• Published: Magyar Biológiai Társaság 2020
• Subjects: species protection; highly protected; Red List; ringing; fajvédelem; fokozottan védett; Vörös Lista; gyűrűzés; Common vole
• Online Access: https://ojs.mtak.hu/index.php/termvedkozlem/article/view/9184; https://doi.org/10.20332/tvk-jnatconserv.2020.26.39

The imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) is one of the largest birds of prey in Hungary; it has been highly protected since 1954. The species belongs to the Accipitriformes ordo, and is classified as ‘vulnerable’ all over the world; but recently, their populations have been reported to show an increasing trend in Hungary and some other European countries as well. The imperial eagle is typically very sensitive to disturbances. Chick mortality rate is also remarkably high. We studied a guarded pair of imperial eagles near Füzesabony, in the Heves-Plain landscape, in 2014. In addition, the reproductive success and diet composition of the eagle pairs on the South-Heves Plain were also observed. For the guarded nets, the aims of this study were as follows: (1) to interpret the ringing data bank of the chick, (2) to determine the diet composition near and inside the nest, and (3) to investigate the possible effects of human disturbances on the birds’ behaviour. On the sampling site, 16 imperial eagle pairs could breed successfully in 2014. 31 chicks hatched after an average 43 days of incubation, and 3 chicks perished. The average chick number of the successful imperial eagle pairs was 2.0 chicks per breeding pair. The particularly observed pair only hatched a single chick, in spite of the abundance of food in the area. In this area, the studied imperial eagle pairs most frequently preyed on the following: from birds, long-eared owl and crow species, from mammals, common vole and European hare. In the area of the territories, agricultural activity was frequently conducted; however, it did not lead to the final desertion of the nests, in the case of any of the eagle pairs. The results of our investigation form a part of the imperial eagle annual report, and are fundamental to the species protection program. A parlagi sas (Aquila heliaca) hazánk egyik legnagyobb termetű ragadozómadara, amely 1954 óta fokozottan védett. Világszerte veszélyeztetett helyzetben lévő vágómadár, amelynek egyes európai, így a hazai állományai is ...