Ghizil-Agaj State Reserve

Main article: State Reserves of Azerbaijan

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 km² on Ghizil-Agaj Bay at the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea, in Lankaran District, southeastern Azerbaijan.

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

Birds of Ghizil-Agaj State Reserve

Creation

Ghizil-Aghaj State Reserve was created for protecting and 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 biggest 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		Grey-headed swamphen (Sultan toyuğu)	Porphyrio poliocephalus
	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		White-tailed lapwing (Ağquyruq çökükburun)	Vanellus leucurus
	Black francolin (Turac)	Francolinus francolinus		Collared pratincole (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