White-Tailed Eagle
Haliaetus albicilla
This is an Eagle - big in any company and bigger than the (unrelated) Golden. This species is found from Greenland round the Old World to the eastern tip of the Soviet Union (as was). This is a brown bird with a white tail and in flight it looks like the proverbial flying barn door.
It is also known as the Sea Eagle (and even Erne) and over part of its range it is associated with sea cliffs but over much of the Continent they are also found extensively inland. Fish, birds and mammals and their carrion are eaten and each bird eats about 4,000 gms per week. Re-introduced birds in Britain (Scotland) now occupy about 20 territories and about half of these are of breeding age.
Very big Old World representative of this group of eagles.
Length 800 mm Closed wing 635 mm Weight 5,000 gms A Bird On! Sketch by Chris Mead
Copyright © 1996 by Jacobi Jayne & Company and Chris Mead