page_title: White-bellied sea eagle
section_title: Breeding
hierarchical_section_title: White-bellied sea eagle / Behaviour / Breeding
caption_attribution_description: Haliaeetus leucogaster English: A White-bellied Sea Eagle in Bairnsdale, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.Español: Pigargo oriental, Australia.
context_page_description: The white-bellied sea eagle, 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 long with a wingspan of up to 2.2 m, and weigh 4.5 kg. 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.
  Resident from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to Australia on coasts and major waterways, the white-bellied sea eagle breeds and hunts near water, and fish form around half of its diet. Opportunistic, it consumes carrion and a wide variety of animals.
context_section_description: The breeding season varies according to location—it has been recorded in the dry season in the Trans-Fly region and Central Province of Papua New Guinea, and from June to August in Australia. A pair of white-bellied sea eagles performs skilful displays of flying before copulation: diving, gliding and chasing each other while calling loudly. They may mirror each other, flying 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) apart and copying each other swooping and swerving. A talon-grappling display has been recorded where the pair will fly high before one flips upside down and tries to grapple the other's talons with its own. If successful, the two then plunge cartwheeling before separating as they approach the ground. This behaviour has also been recorded as an aggressive display against a wedge-tailed eagle.
  The white-bellied sea eagle usually chooses tall trees or man-made pylons to nest in. Often, locations are sought where there is a tall dead tree or high branch with good visibility which can be used as a perch to survey the surrounding area, which is generally a low-lying locale near water with some forest cover. The perch becomes covered in faeces and pellets and animal remains litter the immediate surrounding area. The nest is a large deep bowl constructed of sticks and branches, and lined with such materials as grass or seaweed. Yearly renovations result in nests getting gradually bigger. Nests are generally sited in the forks of large trees overlooking bodies of water. Old nests of wedge-tailed eagles or whistling kites have been renovated and used. Cliffs are also suitable nesting sites, and on islands nests are sometimes built directly on the ground. A breeding pair, with the male being more active, spends three to six weeks building or renovating the nest before laying eggs. Normally a clutch of two dull, white, oval eggs are laid. Measuring 73×55 mm, they are incubated over six weeks before hatching. The young are semi-altricial, and covered in white down when they emerge from the egg. Initially, the male brings food and the female feeds the chicks, but both parents feed the chicks as they grow larger. Although two eggs are laid, it is unusual for two young to be reared successfully to fledging (leaving the nest). One egg may be infertile, or the second chick may die in the nest. If the first clutch is lost, the parents may attempt a second brood. Nestlings have been recorded fledging when 70 to 80 days old, and remaining around the parents' territory for up to six months or until the following breeding season.
caption: A dead branch makes a good perch to survey the surrounding area.
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