Eurasian eagle-owl
The Eurasian eagle-owl ("Bubo bubo") is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the European eagle-owl and in Europe, it is occasionally abbreviated to just eagle-owl. It is one of the largest species of owl, and females can grow to a total length of 75 cm (30 in), with a wingspan of 188 cm (6 ft 2 in), males being slightly smaller. This bird has distinctive ear tufts, with upper parts that are mottled with darker blackish colouring and tawny. The wings and tail are barred. The underparts are a variably hued buff, streaked with darker colour. The facial disc is poorly developed and the orange eyes are distinctive.
Ural River
The wetlands at and near the delta of the Ural River are especially important to migrating birds as an important stop-over along the Asian flyway. They host many endemic and endangered species, such as great white pelican, Dalmatian pelican, pygmy cormorant, cattle egret, little egret, greater flamingo, white-headed duck, ferruginous duck, Eurasian spoonbill, glossy ibis, houbara bustard, great black-headed gull, slender-billed gull, squacco heron, common crane, demoiselle crane, slender-billed curlew, black stork, red-breasted goose, lesser white-fronted goose, lesser kestrel, whooper swan, tundra swan, osprey, pallid harrier, short-toed eagle and many others. The pygmy cormorant was observed sporadically before 1999 and more regularly after that. Cattle egret is observed since 1990 between April and September (as most other migratory birds in this area), with the total population of several dozen couples. It feeds on frogs, mollusks and small fish. Upstream, there are more of the stationary bird species, such as grouse, wild pigeon and partridge.