Editing Eastern imperial eagle (section)

==Distribution and habitat==

===Breeding range===
[[File:עיט שמש 2.jpg|thumb|left|A juvenile photographed from helicopter. Eastern imperial eagles prefer the interface of woods and open areas and can tolerate agriculture and development so long as prey sources remain.]]
The eastern imperial eagle is found as far west as east-central and southeastern Europe. The European part of its breeding range includes eastern [[Austria]], eastern [[Czech Republic]], [[Slovakia]], [[Hungary]], eastern [[Croatia]], [[Serbia]], northeastern [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Romania]], [[Moldova]] and northern, western and much of the eastern part of [[Ukraine]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /><ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Cramp/><ref>Davies, C. (2002). ''The European bird report: non-passerines''. British Birds, 95: 174-188.</ref><ref name= Michev>Michev, T., & Petrov, T. (1979). ''On the distribution of the Imperial Eagle. Aquila heliaca''.</ref> The species distribution continues across central Russia, where it is found through most of the [[Central Federal District]], essentially all of the [[North Caucasian Federal District]], most of the [[Volga Federal District|Volga]] and [[Ural Federal District]]s (excluding the northern parts), and the southern part of [[Siberia]] past [[Lake Baikal]] to the [[Zabaykalsky Krai|Transbaikalia]] in the landlocked southwest of the [[Russian Far East]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /><ref name= Michev/><ref>Bakka, S., Kiseleva, N.Y. & Karyakin, I.V. (2010). ''The Imperial Eagle in the Nizhniy Novgorod District, Russia''. Raptors Conservation, 20: 84-88.</ref><ref name= Karyakin>Karyakin, I. V., Nikolenko, E. N., Levin, A. S., & Kovalenko, A. V. (2011). ''Eastern Imperial Eagle in Russia and Kazakhstan: population status and trends''. Acta zool. bulg., Suppl, 3, 95-104.</ref> Out of Russia, their breeding extends south to mostly the northern portions of the following nations: [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Uzbekistan]], much of [[Kazakhstan]], northwestern [[China]] ([[Xinjiang]]) and northern [[Mongolia]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /><ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= HBW/><ref name= Michev/><ref name= Bukreev>Bukreev, A., Boldbataar, S. & Zvonov, B.M. (2010). ''The Imperial Eagle in Mongolia''. Raptors Conservation, 20: 186-194.</ref> Isolated populations also persist in northwestern, central and eastern [[Turkey]], [[Cyprus]], and northern [[Iran]]. As a breeding species, they are probably [[Local extinction|extirpated]] from [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /><ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Michev/><ref name="Turan, L. 2005">Turan, L. (2005). ''The status of diurnal birds of prey in Turkey''. J. Raptor Res, 39(1), 36-54.</ref>

===Migration and wintering range===
[[File:Aquila heliaca, Little Rann of Kutch 1.jpg|thumb|A wintering imperial eagle in [[Little Rann of Kutch]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]].]]
Unlike the [[Spanish imperial eagle]], the eastern imperial eagle is fairly strongly migratory in most of its range, though a variable amount of residency or very local wandering during winter in the western and southern parts of its range may lend it to be described as a partial migrant. The species has been recorded overwintering as far north as [[Mongolia]].<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Bukreev/> In [[Bulgaria]], of three post-dispersal juveniles, two remained within the country and only one migrated a long distance to [[Israel]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Gradev, G. |author2=Matarranz, V. |author3=Dobreva, E.; Popov, D.; Marin, S.; Ivanov, I. & Zhelev, P. |year=2011 |title=First results of the tracking of Eastern Imperial Eagles (''Aquila heliaca'') tagged with radio-transmitters in Bulgaria |journal=Acta Zoologica Bulgarica |volume=Supplementum |issue=3 |pages=15–20}}</ref> Migratory movements occur during fall any time from September to November and in spring anytime from February to May, shifting earlier in the fall and later in spring the farther north that the eagles breed. Differentiating the large areas used merely for passage migration or vagrancy from regular wintering grounds can be difficult.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /><ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= HBW/><ref name="Domashevsk 2002">Domashevsk,y S.V. (2002). ''[Observations of the migration of birds of prey in the Crimea]''. Berkut, 11: 112-116.</ref> Though typically seen in very small numbers at main raptor migration sites, the species may occur as a passage migrant through much of the [[Middle East]] down to [[Yemen]], with pockets of wintering eagles in Israel, northern [[Jordan]], central [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Kuwait]], northeastern [[Iraq]] and adjacent southwestern [[Iran]].<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref>Porter, R. F., & Beaman, M. A. S. (1985). ''A resume of raptor migration in Europe and the Middle East''. Conservation Studies on Raptors. ICBP Technical Publication, 5, 237-242.</ref><ref>Lobley, G.R. (2007). ''Wintering of greater spotted eagle Aquila clanga and eastern imperial eagle A. heliaca in the Arabian Peninsula''. Sandgrouse 29(2): 177-182.</ref><ref>Christensen, S. J., Lou, O., Miller, M., & Wohlmuth, H. (1980). ''The spring migration of raptors in southern Israel and Sinai''. Sandgrouse, 2, 1.</ref> A radio-tagging study of a few wintering eagles in [[Arabia]] found they returned variously to [[Russia]] in four cases and [[Kazakhstan]] and [[China]] in a single case, with a range of ground covered in spring migration of {{convert|3900|to|5000|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref>Meyburg, B. U., & Meyburg, C. (2015). ''Satellite tracking of Eastern Imperial Eagles ''Aquila heliaca.</ref> The eastern imperial eagle winters locally and in quite small numbers in Africa's [[Nile|Nile valley]], mostly being reported in southern [[Sudan]], central [[Ethiopia]] and northern [[Kenya]], irregularly down as far as southern [[Kenya]] and once even in northern [[Tanzania]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /><ref name= HBW/><ref name= Kemp>Kemp, A., & Kemp, M. (2006). ''Sasol Birds of Prey; New Edition''. Struik.</ref><ref>Paltenea, E., Viforeanu, A., Bulgaru, C., & Jecu, E. (2008). ''Swamps biodiversity of the White Nile (Sudan)''. Transylvanian Review of Systematical and Ecological Research, (6), 81.</ref><ref>Vittery, A. (1983). ''Movements of Palearctic raptors in the Ethiopian rift valley''. Scopus,(7), 1-9.</ref><ref>Gedeon, K., Zewdie, C., & Töpfer, T. (2017). ''The birds (Aves) of Oromia, Ethiopia–an annotated checklist''. European Journal of Taxonomy, (306).</ref><ref>Backhurst, G. C., Britton, P. L., & Mann, C. F. (1973). ''The less common Palaearctic migrant birds of Kenya and Tanzania''. Journal of East African Natural History, 1973(140), 1-38.</ref> Most migrants to Africa apparently originate in the western part of the breeding range such as [[Europe]].<ref>Agostini, N., & Logozzo, D. (1997). ''Autumn migration of Accipitriformes through Italy en route to Africa''. AVOCETTA-PARMA-, 21, 174-179.</ref><ref name="Domashevsk 2002"/> Further east, such as the imperial eagles that breed around [[Lake Baikal]], will generally migrate to [[south Asia]].<ref>Ryabtsev, V.V., Durnev, Y.A. & Fefelov, I.V. (2001). ''[Autumn passage of Falconiformes in the south-western shore of Lake Baikal]''. Russian Journal of Ornithology. 130: 63-68.</ref> Moderate to quite low numbers of this species are usually noted at migration sites in the [[Himalayas]].<ref>Fleming Jr., R. L. (1983). ''An east-west Aquila eagle migration in the Himalayas''. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Bombay, 80(1), 58-62.</ref><ref>Den Besten, J. W. (2004). ''Migration of Steppe Eagles Aquila nipalensis and other raptors along the Himalayas past Dharamsala, India, in autumn 2001 and spring 2002''. Forktail, 20, 9-13.</ref> The eastern imperial eagle winters fairly broadly in the [[Indian subcontinent]], from eastern [[Pakistan]], eastward through southern [[Nepal]] to [[Bangladesh]] and down as far south in [[India]] as the states of [[Gujarat]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Bihar]] and northwestern [[Jharkhand]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /><ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= HBW/><ref name= Naoroji/> Other semi-regular wintering areas include southern [[Bhutan]], [[Thailand]] and north [[Indochina]] (recorded across Chinese border in southwestern [[Yunnan]]) and spottily in [[east China]] where wildlands still occur. Occasionally, wintering birds are doing in central [[Cambodia]] and discontinuously in [[Laos]] and [[Vietnam]], as well as in the [[Korean peninsula]], [[Taiwan]] and southern [[Japan]] (mostly [[Honshu]]).<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /><ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= HBW/><ref>Chen, G., & Peterson, A. T. (2002). ''Prioritization of areas in China for the conservation of endangered birds using modelled geographical distributions''. Bird Conservation International, 12(3), 197-209.</ref><ref>Morris, G.E. (1986). ''Birds of prey in Vietnam''. Birds of Prey Bulletin, 3: 163-169.</ref><ref>Liu, C. (2004). ''[Spring raptor migration survey for the 3 northernmost townships of Taiwan in 1996]''. Raptor Research of Taiwan, 5: 25-44.</ref> Vagrants have been reported in over 20 countries, mainly in Europe, including [[Poland]], [[Sweden]], [[Denmark]], [[Germany]] and [[Italy]].<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref>Fritz, O. (1981). ''[Imperial Eagle, Aquila heliaca, recorded on Oland]''. Calidris, 10: 263-264.</ref><ref>Bottazzo, S., Piras, G. & Tonelli, A. (1999). ''A case of wintering of the imperial eagle Aquila heliaca in Italy''. Avocetta, 23: 17.</ref>

===Habitat===
[[File:Eastern Imperial Eagle landscape.jpg|thumb|left|When wintering, eastern imperial eagles are partial to relatively open habitats.]]
The eastern imperial eagle is distributed as a breeding species largely along the southern edge of the vast [[taiga]] forests. The habitat preferred by the species is often rather open country with [[Grove (nature)|scattered trees]] or more [[Woodland|enclosed woodlands]], as well as around or near [[wetland]]s. The imperial eagle often forages mainly in open areas, extending to beyond typical assorted [[grassland]]s to wetlands and [[Arable land|agricultural areas]]. In more extensive wooded areas, eastern imperial eagles require [[Glade (geography)|glade]]s or [[meadow]]s in order to executive hunting. The central part of their range as a breeding species occurs in vast areas of [[steppe]] and here the species often inhabits [[Landscape ecology|forest-steppe mosaics]], as well as [[Woodland edge|open woodlands]], [[Riparian zone|river valleys]] and even [[Agricultural land|agricultural areas]] with trees or [[Woodlot|wooded patches]]. [[Upland and lowland|Lowland areas]] tend to be preferred, albeit not exclusively.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Sanchez-Zapata>Sanchez-Zapata, J. A., Carrete, M., Gravilov, A., Sklyarenko, S., Ceballos, O., Donazar, J. A., & Hiraldo, F. (2003). ''Land use changes and raptor conservation in steppe habitats of Eastern Kazakhstan''. Biological Conservation, 111(1), 71-77.</ref><ref name= Fefelov>Fefelov, I. V. (2004). ''Observations on the nesting of Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca in the Kuitun-Zima steppe area, Baikal region, Russia''. Forktail., (20), 145.</ref> In [[Turkestan]] and Kazakhstan, they may extend their breeding habitat into [[Semi-arid climate|semi-desert]]. True [[desert]] is used during winter so long as foods are available.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Karyakin/><ref>Dresser, H. E. (1875). ''Notes on Severtzoff's ‘Fauna of Turkestan’(Turkestanskie Jevotnie)''. Ibis, 17(1), 96-112.</ref> Largely where golden eagles are absent, the species has been reported to range into secondary habitats such as forested lower [[mountain]]s and [[Montane ecosystems|montane steppe]] and [[meadow]]land. In Europe at least, this is due to human pressures, which caused them to abandon open [[lowland]]s, timbered [[plain]]s and river-fringed forests for forested, precipitous uplands. A slow repopulation of their preferred lowlands reported since the 1990s in [[Slovakia]] and [[Hungary]].<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name="Horvath3">Horváth, M., Szitta, T., Fatér, I., Kovács, A., Demeter, I., Firmánszky, G., & Bagyura, J. (2011). ''Population dynamics of the Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) in Hungary between 2001 and 2009''. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica Suppl, 3, 61-70.</ref> Often, eastern imperial eagles winter in more open habitats such as nearly continuous [[grassland]], plains, [[Semi-arid climate|semi-desert]] and [[Agriculture|cultivation]] with scattered trees as well as various [[marsh]]es, [[lake]]s and other [[wetland]]s. The species resides mainly from sea level to {{convert|1300|m|ft|abbr=on}}, locally to {{convert|1800|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and has been recorded on passage at {{convert|3900|m|ft|abbr=on}} in Asia.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Naoroji/>