One of the 23 eagles on WAnimals
Birds · Accipitriformes · Accipitridae
Steller's Sea Eagle
Haliaeetus pelagicus
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
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 retreat.
Weight
5.5 kg – 7.9 kg
Size
85 cm – 1.1 m
Lifespan
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
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 & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & 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
See its range on the interactive mapWhere to watch 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.
Least ConcernGolden Eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
Eastern Imperial Eagle
Aquila heliaca
Northern Fur Seal
Callorhinus ursinus
Red-crowned Crane
Grus japonensis
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Accipiter nisus
Mountain Hawk-Eagle
Nisaetus nipalensis
How to help
The steller's sea eagle is classified as vulnerable. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 4 real protected areas — part of 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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