Page 127 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

BIRDS OF PREY
Order Accipitriformes Family Accipitridae Species Haliaeetus albicilla
White-tailed Eagle
pale and dark brown
blotches on back
glides on
flat wings

dark tail
pale head

big, bright JUVENILE
yellow bill
saw- dark brown
toothed overall
trailing
edge JUVENILE

ADULT
dark short white
tail tail huge span of flat, deeply
protruding head ADULT fingered wings
and neck
IN FLIGHT
huge, flat-winged bird, this eagle is now very rare over most of
Aits former range. It survives in remote marshes and along rocky FLIGHT: heavy and direct; wingbeats deep and
coasts and offshore islands, and appears on extensive damp coastal elastic, or flexible; soars on flat wings.
plains in winter. Its presence in Scotland is due to a recent
reintroduction programme.Around small
fishing harbours, it can become quite
bold and relatively tame if unpersecuted.
It typically sits upright on rocks or
swoops into sheltered bays for fish.
VOICE Shrill yaps near nest in summer.
NESTING Huge pile of sticks on flat
crowns of trees or cliff ledges; 2 eggs;
1 brood; March–July.
FEEDING Picks sick or dead fish and SWOOPING ON PREY
offal from water using its feet; eats dead This eagle dives for food with lumbering but expert
animals and catches seabirds and hares. agility, picking fish and offal from water with its feet. OCCURRENCE
Most common in Scandinavia
SIMILAR SPECIES along rocky coasts, rare in central
and E Europe, Balkans, Iceland,
GRIFFON VULTURE BLACK VULTURE shorter and W Scotland where
wings see p.122 see p.123 head in
raised shorter flight reintroduced on offshore isles.
in “V “ head Winters mostly in wide open
shorter head
darker
lowlands, including farmland, with
longer ones and twos appearing most
tail
wings raised years in some traditional areas.
in “V“ when
GOLDEN EAGLE soaring Seen in the UK
see p.126 J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 70–92cm (28–36in) Wingspan 2–2.45m (6 1 ⁄2 –8ft) Weight 3.1–7kg (6 3 ⁄4 –15lb)
Social Family groups Lifespan Up to 20 years Status Rare
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