Acta ornithoecol.. Jena 4.2-4 (200\) 321 321 30.12.1999 Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquilu pomarins in Transcaucasia ALEXANDER ABULADZE -{bstract: Tlrc LSL in Transcaucasia is at presellt distributed mainlf in thc flood-lands of large rivers and in lbrest areas of lbothrlls and lorr-r.r'rour.rtnins of Grcat Caucasia ancl Caucasia Nlinor. [)uling thc l:rstdccaclcs thcTranscaucasian popu- lationhasdecrea:ed. Destruction ofbrccding habitats is the basiclinritinslirctor. Bctuecn 1975 anclLi)95 pcrhaps 215 - 220 brccding pair-s have brctlin thc stuclr'arca. \lore intensire ef'fbtts ale neces:arv 1orsr.rccesslul protection ofthe spe- cics in Transcaucasia. Introduction In the present communication informaticln is prol'ided on the distribution. numbers. breeding biology. threats iind conservation problems of the Lesser Spotted Eagle(LSE) Aquilu pontarincr in the Transcaucasiau States - Gcorgia. Azerbaijan andArmenia.Somepreliminary material on species status. breeding biolo-ey and rnigratior.r in Georgia \\'as presented in November 22 - 25. 199 I at an internatiorlal symposiun.r on the White-tailed Sea Ea-qle and LSE in Zielonka. Poland and later published (ABULADZE 1996). This reportpresented data collected befbre 199 l. Unfortunatel,v. during tl.re last fil'e years. lnajor changes in Caucasia have occurred. due to various social cataclysms anclarmed conflicts. As a result study and protection of birds ol prey has seriously declined. In this connectiorl it seelns to me that the summarizing of all collected mate- rial on the LSE in the studvarea is cruite relevant. ,\{aterial and methods Thc prcsent cor]]rlunication is bascd on the results lionr str,rdy of raptors. includrng the LSE. in Caucasra. conducted since 197i. Particular attcntion\\ir! paid to distribution.numbcls. habitat sclcction. brccding biologl'. tbcding and pro- blerns ol'protcction. lt conrprises datacollected b1'thc atnl.ror in thc tcrritorics olGcorgia..{rnrcnia andAzcrbaijan. 23 nest-sitcs ucrc tbund in (ieolgia. l2 in:\zcrbai.jan ancl 3 in .Armenia. In adclition. -j6 nesting telritories u'ere checked: 97 brcedrng attempts ucrc studiecl and controlled during ficld uork: 25 chLtchcs wcrc stuclicd and controlled in dctail: l9 uele measurcd. Foocl habit:uere studied hl pellctanalysis. rclcntilicatron ofprcl'rcmains and dircctvisual obscrr,ations. L)atawerecollcctcrl iionrlTnestsduringthepcriocloffccdingthcl'oung. l.566pcllctsirncl 2-j2prcl rcmains*'crccollec- teclundcr- and arountlknou'n ncst-sitcs ancl analvsecl. Paltefns o1'the Greater and LSEs' seasonal migrations across Caucasia r.r,erc invcstigated regularly fionrl975 till 1992 and in auturnn 199;1 in thc dilttrcnt arcas olthe region. But thc basic volumeofnralerial tas accluircd duringobscnations ancl counts in the :outh-rlestenr part ofGeorgia - on the ter- ritorv ofAcljaliaAutonomous RcpLrtrlic. Fieldobselrations uere calried out usingvalious binoculars and telescopes. All published r.natcrial on the LSE fiom the studl areas,as usctLas u cll as clata from unpublishcd rcports of Caucasian col- lcagues. Distribution and numbers The LSE's breeding range in Transcaucasia comprises large forest areas bordering openhumid biotopes:meadows" marshes. other wetlands and fields (sometimes dry. arid landscapes, semi- deserts). Nest-distribution covers the flood-lands of largeriversand low-mountain landscapes. This species at present occurs principally in the central and southern partsofthe Transcaucasia. The preferredbreeding habitats are locatedin the old dense forestsalong the large rivers of the CaspianSea catchment area - Kura. Alazani. Iori. Khrami. Agrichai and Shamkhorcl.rai Rivers, etc.Typicalol this biotope are many-tiered deciduous forests (poplar, aspen, willow. etc.)with \cta ornithoccologica. Bd..+" H.2-,1" 2001 321