Environmental activist Dr. Abdullah Al-Zaidan just lately documented a big black-grey eagle within the Al-Salmi space, north of Kuwait, shedding gentle on one of many area’s most spectacular chook species.
Al-Zaidan informed Al-Rai that the eagle, often known as the monk eagle and regionally known as “Bu Abaya” as a result of it resembles an individual sporting an abaya, is without doubt one of the largest eagles on this planet. Its pure habitat spans southern Europe, the Center East, and elements of Asia.
Explaining the nickname “monk,” Al-Zaidan mentioned it comes from the eagle’s look, which resembles monastic apparel. He highlighted its distinguishing options — darkish feathers starting from brown to black, a feathered head, a robust beak, a physique size of 100–120 cm, a wingspan of two.5–3.1 meters, and a weight between 7 and 14 kilograms.
The monk eagle primarily feeds on giant carrion, makes use of thermal air currents to fly, and nests in tall timber or rocky slopes, often laying one egg per season.
It favors mountainous areas, forests, and open plains, however faces threats from habitat loss and poisoning. It’s at present categorized as ‘close to threatened’ by the Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Al-Zaidan additionally famous that different eagles migrating via Kuwait embrace the Egyptian vulture and the griffon vulture, which play a significant environmental function by eradicating carrion, serving to stop the unfold of illness, and sustaining ecosystem well being.
He emphasised that eagles assist management pest populations, assist ecological steadiness, and scale back well being dangers, making them important to the steadiness of ecosystems in Kuwait and past.