Animals /
Birds Living

Steller's Sea-Eagle

Haliaeetus pelagicus

Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), also known as the Pacific sea eagle or white-shouldered eagle, is a very large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It was described first by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. No subspecies are recognized. A sturdy eagle, it has dark brown plumage with white wings and tail, a yellow beak, and yellow talons.

Overview

Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), also known as the Pacific sea eagle or white-shouldered eagle, is a very large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It was described first by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. No subspecies are recognized. A sturdy eagle, it has dark brown plumage with white wings and tail, a yellow beak, and yellow talons. Typically, it is the heaviest eagle in the world, at about 5 to 10 kg (11 to 22 lb), but in some other standard measurements, may be smaller than the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) and the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi). Steller's sea eagle females are bigger than males, as in other raptors.
The Steller's sea eagle is endemic to coastal northeastern Asia, where it lives in Russia, Korea, Japan, and China. It mainly preys on fish and water birds. The Kamchatka Peninsula in Far Eastern Russia is known for its relatively large population of these birds; about 4,000 of these eagles live there. Steller's sea eagle is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List (IUCN Red List) of threatened species.

Habitat & distribution

Habitats

TerrestrialMarine

Video

Haliaeetus pelagicus bathing, Prague Zoo, spring 2018Credit: MAKY.OREL · CC BY-SA 4.0Source ↗

Sounds

pronunciation recordingJeuwre · CC BY-SA 4.0

References

  1. GBIF Auto Sync GBIF
  2. WoRMS / Aphia World Register of Marine Species
  3. Wikipedia — Steller's sea eagle Wikipedia

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