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White-bellied Sea Eagle

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iWhite-bellied Sea-eagle

Conservation status

Image:Status iucn3.1 LC.svg
Least Concern (LC)

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Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Falconiformes
Family:	Accipitridae
Genus:	Haliaeetus
Species:	H. leucogaster

Binomial name

Haliaeetus leucogaster
Gmelin, 1788

The White-bellied Sea-eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) and also known as the White-bellied Fish-eagle or White-breasted Sea Eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers.

It is resident from India through southeast Asia to Australia on coasts and major waterways. This large eagle is very distinctive. The adult has white head, breast underwing coverts and tail. The upperparts are grey and the black underwing flight feathers contrast with the white coverts. The tail is short and wedge-shaped as in all Haliaeetus species.

Its closest relative is the little-known Sanford's Fish-eagle of the Solomon Islands. These form a species pair, and as usual in sea eagle species pairs, as opposed to the dark-headed Sanford's, the White-bellied Sea-eagle has a white head. Talons, bill, and eyes are dark as in all Gondwanan sea eagles. This species pair has at every age at least some dark coloration in its tail, though this may not always be clearly visible in this species. Although they differ much in appearance and ecology, their ancestors diverged less than one million years ago (Wink et al., 1996<ref> The "2%" value used is too low, as the authors remark, possibly by nearly an order of magnitude.</ref>).

The juvenile is buff where the adult is white, and takes several years to reach adult plumage. This eagle flies with wings held in a shallow V.

As with other Haliaeetus sea-eagles, the food is largely fish, but it will take other prey, including sea snakes, and carrion. On carrion, it may be accompanied by Black Kites and Brahminy Kites.

It nests, usually close to other White-bellied Sea-eagles, in large nests in trees or on coastal cliffs. Normally two eggs are laid.

[edit] Images

Juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle

Adult in flight

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Haliaeetus leucogaster. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

Wink, M.; Heidrich, P. & Fentzloff, C. (1996): A mtDNA phylogeny of sea eagles (genus Haliaeetus) based on nucleotide sequences of the cytochrome b gene. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 24: 783-791. DOI:10.1016/S0305-1978(96)00049-X PDF fulltext