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  3. Steller's Sea Eagle

One of the 23 eagles on WAnimals

Birds · Accipitriformes · Accipitridae

Steller's Sea Eagle

Haliaeetus pelagicus

Vulnerable

At high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term.

Spotted something wrong?

Steller's sea eagle is the heaviest raptor in the world: females exceed nine kilos. It is black with pure white shoulders, thighs and tail and an enormous bill of intense orange. It breeds on the coast of the Russian Far East, in Kamchatka and the Amur basin, and winters on Hokkaido, where it gathers on the sea ice. It depends almost entirely on salmon and on the winter pack ice, both of them in decline.

Weight

5.5 kg – 7.9 kg

Size

85 cm – 1.1 m

Life expectancy

30 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Moderate

Estimated population

Around 4,000 individuals

Temperate forestOceanFreshwaterPolar
6countries6parks43same family

Fun facts

  • GeneralThe heaviest eagle on the planet, at up to 9 kg, with an enormous orange bill.
  • alimentaciónIt is one of the heaviest eagles in the world and feeds mainly on salmon during the spawning run in the rivers of the Russian Far East.
  • It is the heaviest eagle on the planet: females exceed nine kilos, more than any bald or golden eagle, and its bill is the largest of any living raptor.
  • Almost the entire population winters in a single place: the sea ice off northern Hokkaido, in Japan, where hundreds of birds gather on the drifting floes.
  • Its dependence on salmon and on sea ice makes it doubly vulnerable to the warming of the North Pacific: without pack ice it loses its winter perches and without salmon it loses its food.

Life cycle and biology

Skeleton type
Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat and environment
Rocky coasts, salmon rivers and sea ice
Sexual maturity
5 years
Gestation / incubation
40 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size
2 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haliaeetus_pelagicus

Where to find it

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The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.

Where to see it

Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.

Related species

Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Steller's Sea Eagle — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.

Same taxonomic family
Same taxonomic family
Shares a park
Shares a park
Same taxonomic family
Same taxonomic family

How to help

The steller's sea eagle is classified as vulnerable. Organisations such as the IUCN, WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programmes is a good starting point if you want to get involved.

It's documented in 4 protected areas — one reason why protecting these places matters for its conservation.

Keep exploring

Based on what we already know about steller's sea eagle.

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See full glossary
This page in other languages: Español · Deutsch · Français · Português · Italiano
See its range on the interactive map→
ShiretokoJapan
Volcanoes of KamchatkaRussia
Kushiro WetlandJapan
Akan-MashuJapan
Rishiri-Rebun-SarobetsuJapan
KronotskyRussia
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Callorhinus ursinus

Red-crowned CraneVulnerable

Red-crowned Crane

Grus japonensis

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Pernis apivorus

Western Marsh HarrierLeast Concern

Western Marsh Harrier

Circus aeruginosus

CountriesJapan
ParksShiretokoJapan
TagsCarnivore
Carnivore
Diurnal
In pairs
Vulnerable
Bird
Temperate forest
Ocean
Freshwater
Polar
Japan
Russia
China
North Korea
South Korea
Taiwan