Bonelli’s Eagle

In News

For the first time Bonelli’s Eagle, a rare bird of prey, presence was recorded along the Krishna river through the Amrabad Tiger Reserve in the Nallamala hills of Telangana.

About

The Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata) is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird remembers the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli.

Also called as crestless hawk- eagle, their nest, presences of two parents and two chicks have also been identified.

Foresters and environmentalists accredit the sighting of the Bonelli’s eagle in the Amrabad Tiger Reserve to both the continued afforestation and conservation efforts and the presence of a protected habitat with a good prey base.

Bonelli’s eagle is usually found in hilly and mountainous regions. In India they are mostly found in the Chambal ravines, the Ranthambore National Park, the Chir zone of the lower Kumaun Himalayas and, during the winter months, in the Keoladeo National Park of Bharatpur, Rajasthan.

Food

Bonelli's eagles take a fairly wide variety of prey. They usually hunt medium-sized birds such as the turkey, chicken, quail, pigeon, small mammals such as the hare and reptiles, frogs, insects and, occasionally, even on carrion.

The Forest Department is searching the interiors of the Nallamalla forest range and the Amrabad Tiger Reserve along the Krishna river to spot endangered species.

Measures

The sinking of solar borewells to help confirm perennial sources of water and relocating some villages and to convert the lands into grasslands will ensure that animals and birds are not disturbed inside the Nallamalla forest areas and the Amrabad Tiger Reserve, which is the fourth largest in terms of size in India.

These measures will support the herbivore animals which in turn will help the carnivore animals thus in a way protecting the population of Bonelli’s Eagle.