Steller's sea eagle
The white-tailed eagle is a very large bird and one of the largest living birds of prey. It is the largest of the dozen species called eagle to be found in Europe and is the largest eagle across its distribution, excluding the Russian Far East and during winter in Hokkaido where it co-exists with its larger cousin, Steller's sea eagle. The white-tailed eagle is sometimes considered the fourth largest eagle in the world and is on average the fourth heaviest eagle in the world. The only extant eagle species known to be more massive in mean bulk are Steller's sea eagle ("Haliaeetus pelagicus"), the harpy eagle ("Harpia harpyja") and the Philippine eagle ("Pithecophaga jefferyi"). The white-tailed eagle measures anywhere from in total length with a typical wingspan of . This species may have the largest wingspan of any living eagle. The Steller's sea eagle, which is larger in weight, total length and non-wing standard measurements, may be the closest rival for median wingspan amongst living eagles. Average wingspans are not known for the Steller's species, however white-tailed eagles do appear to outsize the average wingspan of the wedge-tailed eagle ("Aquila audax"), which is sometimes also titled the largest winged extant eagle (however one wedge-tail did possess the largest wingspan ever verified for an extant eagle). In one sample from Norway, 5 male white-tailed eagle were found to average and 8 females were found to average . In another sample of wild birds of unspecified origin, 5 males were found to average and 7 females averaged . Record wingspans have included a specimen from Greenland which measured while another specimen apparently spanned . The bald eagle broadly overlaps in size with the white-tailed eagle. In direct comparison, the white-tailed eagle averages somewhat larger in body mass than the bald eagle and may be marginally larger in bill and talon size although these linear aspect can be quite similar between the two species. However, the white-tailed has a significantly larger wing chord and average wingspan. On the other hand, the bald eagle usually possesses a longer tail length on average, which imparts a somewhat longer total length that the white-tailed eagle, and a longer mean tarsal length.