Eastern Imperial Eagle

The Eastern Imperial Eagle lives in forested areas in the steppe zone, floodplain forests, sandy deserts with individual trees, as well as at the foot of mountain ranges. Pines are the preferred trees for raptors in most parts of their range in Kazakhstan.

The birds begin their autumn migration from Kazakhstan in mid-September, but could leave as late as the end of November.

The Eastern Imperial Eagle faces a barrage of threats that contributed to its declining population. Habitat loss and degradation resulting from widespread deforestation, agricultural expansion, and infrastructure development are major causes of the bird’s declining abundance. The nature of the Eastern Imperial Eagle’s nesting—repeated use of nesting sites for years and the need for large, old trees to host the nests—makes it highly vulnerable to disturbance. In particular, fires and logging destroy the bird’s nesting habitat.

Eastern Imperial Eagles are also killed by electrocution and collisions with power lines and wind turbines, insufficient prey base, hunting, and pesticide use.

Dedicated scientists and conservationists, among them, Biodiversity Research and Conservation Center (BRCC), are working hard to better understand the population’s status and reverse the Eastern Imperial Eagle’s decline in Kazakhstan. Current efforts center on identifying and executing measures to mitigate threats from energy infrastructure; specifically, power lines and wind farms. Initiatives include:

• educating electrical industry companies, state environmental protection agencies, and other stakeholders on the need to preserve raptors in Kazakhstan;
• collaboration and coordination among local and regional nongovernmental organizations to identify best practices and technologies for reducing threats posed by energy infrastructure and developing recommendations.

The Naurzum Nature Reserve, located in northern Kazakhstan (Kostanai Oblast), has monitored the Eastern Imperial Eagle since 1979. A collaborative team comprising BRCC specialists and employees of Buiratau National Park, located in central Kazakhstan, conducted tagging and monitoring activities of the birds in July 2023. The work, performed in the national park, was the first-ever such event in Buiratau’s 12-year history.

The Russian word for the Eastern Imperial Eagle is “орёл-могильник” (oryol-mogil’nik), which translates to “eagle (of the) burial ground/gravesite.” The eagle acquired this Russian nomenclature in the 19th century, when the bird was mostly found near kurgans (burial mounds of earth and/or stones) and mausoleums. While Russian-speaking scientists still use the “orel-mogil’nik” designation today, they also use “императорский орел” (imperatorskiy orel) or “imperial eagle,” which aligns with the name commonly assigned to these remarkable birds in English.