White-bellied Sea-Eagle © Alan Fletcher

Gliding

Soaring

Abundance (Guide)
MC

Common around most of the coastline. Scarce along coasts near major cities.

Habitat
Usually coastal, foreshores, mudflats, sand-pits, headlands, beaches, bays, estuaries, mangroves, seasonally flooded inland swamps, lagoons and floodplains. Often far inland on large pools of major rivers.

Range (Guide)

Australia (B), Bangladesh (B), Brunei Darussalam (B), Cambodia (B), China (mainland) (B), Hong Kong (China) (B), India (B), Indonesia (B), Laos (B), Malaysia (B), Myanmar (B), Papua New Guinea (B), Philippines (B), Singapore (B), Sri Lanka (B), Thailand (B), Timor-Leste (B) (NB), Vietnam (B).

Vagrant to Christmas Island, Taiwan (China).

© 2004 Birdpedia (Last update: 08/11/2005)		Throughout coastal mainland Australia and Tasmania and about some of the larger lakes and rivers.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 1,000 - 10,000 (2010).

Status LC
Secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Mammals, tortoises, sea-snakes, fish, eels, larger crustaceans and offal.

Voice
A harsh, nasal, far-carrying, goose-like honk, 'ank, ak-ak, ank, ak-ak....' or two birds in chorus, 'ank-ank-arkakak-ank-akakak-ak'.

(23Kb) © ? (2)

Breeding Season (Guide)
Usually May - October.

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

Nest
A huge structure composed of sticks, lined with leaves, high up in a tall tree, on ledges of cliffs or on the ground on off-shore islands. The same nest is often used for years in succession.

Eggs (Guide)
2; plain white; oval; about 71 x 53 mm. Incubation: about 42 days; mainly by female, but male relieves for periods during the day.

Young
Semi-altricial, nidifugous. Fledge in 63 - 70 days.

Subspecies
No subspecies.

Sanford's Fish-Eagle (Haliaeetus sanfordi) is retained as a species in contrast to Debus (2006), who proposed on the basis of molecular work, that sanfordi be treated as a subspecies of White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster). The BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group consider the considerable differences in morphology, size and proportion, as indicated by Ferguson-Lees and Christie (2001), argue in favour of retaining sanfordi as a full species.

Similar Species
Eastern Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) which is somewhat smaller and has a bold dark eyemark, has slimmer, arched wings with a black 'wrist' mark and juveniles with juvenile and immature Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax) which have longer, diamond (wedge) shaped tails and fully feathered legs.


Reference(s)
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9


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More Information

BirdLife International For more information about the White-bellied Sea-Eagle see... BirdLife International Species Factsheet. Articles about the White-bellied Sea-Eagle If you would like to read any articles about the White-bellied Sea-Eagle... Show Articles (0) Where can I observe this species? Select an area (or leave blank) to see locations where this species has been recorded. Area   QLD NSW ACT VIC TAS SA WA NT NORFOLK LORDHOWE MACQUARIE HEARD COCOS CHRISTMAS ASHMORE OCEAN   All    Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location. Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.   Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          N S or   GPS help Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          E W or Distance Bearing     N NE E SE S SW W NW Get Sample GPS readings On What Field Trips was this species observed? Select an area (or leave blank), and a date range, to see field trips on which this species has been recorded. Area   QLD NSW ACT VIC TAS SA WA NT NORFOLK LORDHOWE MACQUARIE HEARD COCOS CHRISTMAS ASHMORE OCEAN   All    From To     Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location. Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.   Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          N S or   GPS help Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          E W or Distance Bearing     N NE E SE S SW W NW Get Sample GPS readings Latest Sightings for White-bellied Sea-Eagle Select the Area to restrict the Sightings. Area   QLD NSW ACT VIC TAS SA WA NT NORFOLK LORDHOWE MACQUARIE HEARD COCOS CHRISTMAS ASHMORE OCEAN   All