White Bellied Sea Eagle, Australia

by Venetia Featherstone-Witty

Title

White Bellied Sea Eagle, Australia

Artist

Venetia Featherstone-Witty

Medium

Photograph - Photographs

Description

I spotted this beautiful eagle on top of a tree while cruising down the Mary River in Australia.The white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related to Sanford's sea eagle of the Solomon Islands, and the two are considered a superspecies. A distinctive bird, the adult white-bellied sea eagle has a white head, breast, under-wing coverts and tail. The upper parts are grey and the black under-wing flight feathers contrast with the white coverts. The tail is short and wedge-shaped as in all Haliaeetus species. Like many raptors, the female is slightly larger than the male, and can measure up to 90 cm (35 in) long with a wingspan of up to 2.2 m (7 ft), and weigh 4.5 kg (10 lb). Immature birds have brown plumage, which is gradually replaced by white until the age of five or six years. The call is a loud goose like honking.
FEATURED 3/11/15 in "Wildlife One A Day"
FEATURED 3/11/15 in "FAA Portraits- Birds"
FEATURED 3/11/15 in "Animals and Birds in The Wild"
FEATURED 3/19/15 in "The Artistic Forager"
FEATURED 9/4/15 in the "Wings" group
FEATURED 6/22/17 in "Animal Photographs"
FEATURED 6/22/17 in "Images That Excite You"
FEATURED 6/27/17 in "FAA Portrait Gallery"
FEATURED 7/10/17 in "FAA Pixels All Stars"
FEATURED 7/12/17 in "500 Views"
FEATURED 8/5/17 IN "Wild Birds Of The World"
FEATURED 7/30/18 in "Animal Photographs"
FEATURED 6/12/21 in "Birds in Australia"

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March 10th, 2015

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