White Tailed Eagle
Posted in Eagles on March 21, 2018 by macpherc
https://www.birdguides.com/news/white-tailed-eagle-reintroduction-project-support-withdrawn/
Scientific:
Haliaeetus albicilla groenlandicus
Order:
Accipitriformes
Family:
Accipitridae
Genus:
Haliaeetus
English: European Eagle, European Sea Eagle, Gray Eagle, Gray sea Eagle, Gray Sea-eagle, Grey Eagle, Grey sea Eagle, Grey Sea-eagle, White-tailed Eagle, White-tailed Fish-eagle, White-tailed Sea Eagle, White-tailed Sea-eagle, White-tailed See-eagle, White-tailed-Eagle
Danish: Havørn
Greenlandic: Nattoralik
Height: 70-90 cm
Weight: 3.5-5kg (male); 4-7kg (female)
Wingspan: 200-240 cm
Fun Facts: White-tailed Eagle is assumed to have reached Iceland and Greenland after the last glaciations about 5-8000 years ago.
The total population in Greenland is estimated to be 150 -200 pairs. White-Tailed Ealges are a resident of Southwest Greenlandic coast. While under the same subspecies, Greenlandic White-Tailed Eagles on average are a little larger than White-Tailed Eagles from other areas of the world.
White-Tailed Eagles diet on fish, carrion and larger water birds, such as the fulmar. Recently, researches have discovered carcinogenic chemicals, DDT and PCBs, in the eggs of Greenlandic White-Tailed Eagles. While surprising, it is believed the DDT and PCB is a result from White-Tailed Eagles feeding on the migratory fulmars.
White-Tailed Eagles have been protected in Greenland since the year 1973.
Stein Ø. Nilsen, XC361310. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/361310
References :
Avibase The World Bird Database (2018). Haliaeetus albicilla. Found at https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?lang=EN&avibaseid=A41145DF107BF497.
Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (2011). Haliaeetus albicilla. Found at http://www.natur.gl/en/birds-and-mammals/birds/white-tailed-eagle/
Farquhar, C. Craig. 2009. White-tailed Hawk (Geranoaetus albicaudatus), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA.