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Tuesday

White-bellied Sea Eagle



The White-bellied Sea Eagle belongs to the family Accipitridae of birds or the birds of prey. Adults of this eagle have a white feather on its head, breast and underparts of its wings and tail. Its bill and eyes are dark and its talons are colored dark yellow.

A White-bellied Sea Eagle on its flight.
Having a scientific name Haliaeetus leucogaster. White-bellied sea eages were believed to be a resident of India and found its way to Australia and Southeast Asia.The females are larger than the males. They measure up to 36 inches and weights up to 4.5 kilograms. Males only grows up to 32 inches weighinh up to 3 kilograms. Their wingspan can spread of up to 7 feet in flight.
 
They are commonly found in coastal areas and feed on fishes and other variety of small animals. It catches fish  by flying low over the water while holding its feet far forward or dives at a 45 degree angle.

White-bellied Sea Eagles are often territorial. They stay together with their mates until one bird dies and travels a long distance until it finds a new mate. Breeding season has been recorded during dry seasons. The Females chooses tall trees to put their nest and usually lays 2 white colored eggs with an incubation period of 6 weeks.

After hatching, males will look for food and females will feed it to their young. The chiks is usually colored brown on its first year with a plumage colored pale cream. They mature at 6 years of age.

A White-bellied Sea Eagle on a cage in Cebu Zoo.


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