White-tailed eagle Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids White-tailed eagle

At Raftsund, Lofoten/Norway.
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Haliaeetus
Species:	albicilla

Range of H. albicilla. Nesting range Wintering range Year-round range
Synonyms
Falco albicilla Linnaeus, 1758 Falco melanaetos Linnaeus, 1766 Falco ossifragus Linnaeus, 1766 Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla Haliaeetus albicilla groenlandicus

The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) — also called the sea eagle, erne, and white-tailed sea-eagle — is a large bird of prey.

It is in the family Accipitridae, which includes other raptors, such as hawks and kites. It is a close cousin of the bald eagle, but it lives in Eurasia.

Description

Adult, wild eagle from Svolvær, Norway showing its long, broad, fingered wings, heavy beak, and short wedge-shaped tail.

Haliaeetus albicilla.

Haliaeetus albicilla groenlandicus.

The white-tailed eagle is a very large bird. It measures 66–94 cm (26–37 in) in length with a 1.78–2.45 m (5.8–8.0 ft) wingspan. The wingspan averages about 7 feet. This is the largest of any eagle.

Images for kids

Wintering adult white-tailed eagle in Hokkaido, Japan.
The white-tailed eagle is the largest eagle found in Europe and most of its Asian range.
Two adult white-tailed eagles in snow in Färnebofjärden National Park, Sweden.
This is an example of a darker, more richly colored adult than average
Closeup of white-tailed eagle calling
A young eagle above its nest at Littleisland lighthouse
White-tailed eagles are fairly associated with wooded areas but usually ones quite near water.
About to grasp a fish near the Isle of Mull, Scotland
In winter, white-tailed eagles often live largely on carrion.
White-tailed eagle with caught fish.
An adult white-tailed eagle with an apparent bird kill, of unidentified species. It is warding off crows wishing to scavenge it.
Swimming male common eiders are a frequent quarry of white-tailed eagles.
Juvenile white-tailed eagle pursuing two northern lapwings.
1896 rendering of a white-tailed eagle with rabbit prey.
White-tailed eagle adult on the island of Hiiumaa in Estonia.
A juvenile (right) being mobbed by a pair of common buzzards over the Isle of Canna
White-tailed eagles often opportunistically steal food from other birds, especially fish from ospreys.
A nest of a white-tailed eagle in Norway. Despite the preferable location it is unoccupied, and likely an alternate nest.
Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
A large nestling in Brandenburg, Germany.
Young white-tailed eagles quickly become assured fish predators.
An adult and a juvenile white-tailed eagle fighting.
White-tailed eagle skeleton.
A dark-hued juvenile feeding on the carcass of a large fish, likely that of a large carp.
Adult in flight in Isle of Skye, Scotland, from the population of reintroduced birds of Norwegian stock.

White-tailed eagle facts for kids

Description

Images for kids

See also