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Haliaeetus leucogaster
The White-bellied Sea Eagle has a white head, rump and underparts, and dark or slate-grey back and wings. In flight, the black flight feathers on the wings are easily seen when the bird is viewed from below. The large, hooked bill is a leaden blue-grey with a darker tip, and the irides are dark brown. The cere is also lead grey. The legs and feet are yellow or grey, with long black talons (claws). Unlike those of eagles of the genus Aquila, the legs are not feathered.
The White-bellied Sea Eagle is found regularly from Mumbai (sometimes north to Gujarat,[25] and in the past in the Lakshadweep Islands) eastwards in India,[26][27] Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in southern Asia, through all of coastal Southeast Asia including Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Indochina,[20] the main and offshore islands of the Philippines,[24] and southern China including Hong Kong,[20] Hainan and Fuzhou,[11] eastwards through New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago,[28] and Australia. In the northern Solomons it is restricted to Nissan Island,[29] and replaced elsewhere by Sanford's Sea Eagle.[28] In Victoria, where it is otherwise scarce, it is locally more common at Corner Inlet and Gippsland Lakes.[30] Similarly in South Australia, it is most abundant along the north coast of Kangaroo Island.[31] The range extends to the islands of Bass Strait and Tasmania, and it is thought able to move between the islands and the mainland.[32] There is one unconfirmed record from Lord Howe Island and several from New Zealand.
©ASylvestri
Spotted on Sep 23, 2012
Submitted on Feb 24, 2013
