Birds · Accipitriformes · Accipitridae
Haliaeetus albicilla
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
It is the fourth heaviest eagle in the world and was successfully reintroduced to Scotland after dying out there in the early 20th century. Its courtship displays include aerobatics in which the pair lock talons in mid-air.
Weight
3.6 kg – 6.9 kg
Size
66 cm – 94 cm
Life expectancy
22 years
Diet
Piscivore
Feeds mainly on fish.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Estimated population
Between 5,000 and 6,600 breeding pairs in Europe according to BirdLife International, with the largest concentrations in Norway (up to 2,300 pairs), European Russia (up to 2,000) and Poland (up to 700); it is recolonising countries from which it had died out, such as Austria and the Netherlands, and was successfully reintroduced to Scotland
AI-generated images: illustrations, not photographs.
Sources consulted: AnAge; Via Pontica; Hawk and Owl Trust; A-Z Animals; The Eagle Directory; Animal Kingdom; Animalia.bio; AviBirds; Binocular Base; the-birds.net; BirdLife International 2022, IUCN Red List: la tendencia poblacional en Europa es creciente tras la recuperación iniciada en los años ochenta, después del desplome causado por la caza y los pesticidas organoclorados en el Báltico || BirdLife International, estimaciones de población europea; European Raptors || BirdLife International; Vrezec et al. 2009, Denisia 27 (censos invernales de aves acuáticas)
Best time: All year round in northern and central Europe, where it is mostly resident; in winter it gathers on large waterbodies rich in waterbirds, and the northern and north-eastern populations move south
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with White-tailed Eagle — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Based on what we already know about white-tailed eagle.
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The pins mark the parks and dive sites where its presence is documented.
