Ghizil-Agaj State Reserve

Main article: State Reserves of Azerbaijan

Designations
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Ghizil-Agaj
Designated	21 May 2001
Reference no.	1076[1]

Birds of Ghizil-Agaj State Reserve

Ghzil-Aghaj State Reserve (Azerbaijani: Qızılağac dövlət qoruğu), meaning golden tree, was established on July 3, 1929, by the Committee on Protection of the Ancient and Art Monuments of Azerbaijan on an area of 884 km^2 on Ghizil-Agaj Bay at the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea, in Lankaran District, southeastern Azerbaijan.

Creation

Ghizil-Aghaj State Reserve was created for protecting, creating conditions for wintering and nesting of migrant, swamp and wild birds in 1929.[2] Along with the reserve, there is also the Little Qizil-Aghaj State Nature Protected area with a total area of 10,700 ha. Qizil-Aghaj is the first reserve in the country according to area, and the third according to date of establishment.[3]

The reserve was included in the list of UNESCO Ramsar convention "On internationally important swampy areas as the birds' residing places" together with Ag-Gel National Park.[4][5]^[when?]

Flora and fauna

Most species of birds included in the Red Book of Azerbaijan are found in the reserve and adjacent areas. The reserve accounts for 248 species of birds. Such mammals as wild boar, wolf, wild cat, badger, sable, fox, etc. populate this reserve. There are 54 fish species including clupea, caspian kutum, common carp, wels catfish, sander marinus, common bream, flathead grey mullet in the water basins of this reserve.[2][3]

Birds

The list of birds of the reserve, listed in the Red Book of Azerbaijan

Picture	Name (local name)	Scientific name	Picture	Name (local name)	Scientific name
	Greater flamingo (Qızılqaz)	Phoenicopterus roseus		Little bustard (Bəzgək)	Tetrax tetrax
	Great white pelican (Çəhrayı qutan)	Pelecanus onocrotalus		Western swamphen (Sultan toyuğu)	Porphyrio porphyrio
	Dalmatian pelican (Qıvrımlələk qutan)	Pelecanus crispus		Red-breasted goose (Qırmızıdöş qaz)	Branta ruficollis
	Black stork (Qara leylək)	Ciconia nigra		Marbled duck (Mərmər cürə)	Marmaronetta angustirostris
	Eurasian spoonbill (Ərsindimdik)	Platalea leucorodia		Mute swan (Fısıldayan qu)	Cygnus olor
	White-tailed eagle (Ağquyruq dəniz qartalı)	Haliaeetus albicilla		Bewick's swan (Kiçik qu)	Cygnus columbianus bewickii
	Eastern imperial eagle (Məzar qartalı)	Aquila heliaca		Sociable lapwing (Qırıldayan cüllüt)	Vanellus gregarius
	Golden eagle (Berkut)	Aquila chrysaetos		(Ağquyruq çökükburun)	Vanellus leucurus
	Black francolin (Turac)	Francolinus francolinus		(Çöl haçaquyruq cüllütü)	Glareola pratincola
	Great bustard (Dovdaq)	Otis tarda

See also

• Gizilaghaj National Park
• Nature of Azerbaijan
• National Parks of Azerbaijan
• State Reserves of Azerbaijan
• State Game Reserves of Azerbaijan
• Kura Island
• Ghizil-Agaj Bay

References

1. "Ghizil-Agaj". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
2. Gizil-Agach Reserve - Natural Reserves of Azerbaijan
3. "Qızılağac Dövlət Təbiət Qoruğu".
4. "Azerbaijan joins the Ramsar Convention".
5. "United Nations Development Programme" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2018-09-13.

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