White-bellied Sea Eagle

Koh Samui, Thailand

The white-bellied sea eagle is a widely distributed raptor across India, Bangladesh and into  South East Asa, southern China, New Guinea and Australia.

Habitat

The white-bellied sea eagle inhabist coastal regiosn, islands, lakes, rivers and ponds.

Feeding

White-bellied sea eagles prey on aquatic animals, such as fish, turtles and sea snakes but will also take birds, including small penguins, coots and shearwaters.and even small mammals. It is an aggressive predator and will attack prey as big as a swan.. They are also carrion eaters. They often catch  fish by flying close to the water and grippng them in the talons of one foot as illustrated in the photograph above. The white-bellied sea eagle may also dive at a 45-degree angle from its perch and briefly submerge to catch fish near the water surface. 

Breeding

The white-bellied sea eagle nests in sites which offer  good vantage points such as tall trees, cliffs or man-made pylons. They prefer a low-lying locale near water with some forest cover. The nest is a large deep bowl made of sticks and branches, and lined with  materials such as grass or seaweed. The birds return year after year with the nests gradually getting bigger. Both birds contribute to nest building but the female incubates the clutch of two dull white eggs with the male providing food. As the chicks grow, rearing is shared between both parent both pare

Wildfile Specials

• The young are semi-altricial, and covered in white down when they emerge from the egg.
• White-bellied sea eagles feed alone, in pairs, or in family groups. A pair may cooperate in a hunt. Prey is eaten while the bird is flying or when it lands on a branch or the raised platform of its nest.
• While hunting over water, it often flies directly into the sun or at right angles to it, so it avoids casting shadows over the water and alerting potential prey.
• White-bellied sea eagles are kleptoparasites, harassing smaller raptors such as harriers, kites and ospreys and causing them to drop their food. They use simllar tactics with gulls, gannets and cormorants and even southern fur seals. 
• Sometimes they will snatch the prey of other birds by flying upside down beneath them and snatching their prey in their talons.
• The white-bellied sea eagle skins the victim as it eats it.
• The white-bellied sea eagel is exceptionally efficient at digesting its food, and disgorges only tiny pellets of fragmented bone, fur and feathers.
• Faeces, pellets and animal remains litter the area around the sea eagles' nests.