CreatureData

Lesser fish eagle

Icthyophaga humilis (S. Müller & Schlegel, 1841)

NTNear Threatenedbirds of prey

The lesser fish eagle (Icthyophaga humilis) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 782 g to 782.2 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.

Lesser fish eagle (Icthyophaga humilis)
Photo: Subramanya CK · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the lesser fish eagle

Weight
782 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the lesser fish eagle live?

Not recorded

What is the lesser fish eagle?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The lesser fish eagle (Icthyophaga humilis) is a species of Icthyophaga found in the Indian subcontinent, primarily in the foothills of the Himalayas, and south-east Asia. There are records from Gujarat, Central India and in more recent times from the Kaveri river valley in southern India, although the south Indian records are now thought to come from an isolated population, disjunct from the species' normal range.

Some taxonomic authorities place this species in the genus Icthyophaga. Others place it in the genus Haliaeetus.

Lesser fish eagles are fish-eating birds that have feet adapted to aid in gripping slippery fish. They have strongly curved talons, and spicules along the underside of the birds' toes help to grip fish as they pull them from the water.

There are two subspecies: Icthyophaga humilis humilis, which is native to the Malaysian Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and Sulawesi; and Icthyophaga humilis plumbeus, which is native to Kashmir through southeast India, Nepal, and Burma towards Indochina.

From the Wikipedia article “Lesser fish eagle” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lesser_fish_eagle&oldid=1380566599), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the lesser fish eagle endangered?

The lesser fish eagle is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.

How is the lesser fish eagle classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderAccipitriformes
  5. familyAccipitridae
  6. genusIcthyophaga
  7. SpeciesIcthyophaga humilis (S. Müller & Schlegel, 1841)

Synonyms Falco humilis, Haliaeetus humilis, Ichthyophaga humilis

Other names and names in other languages (41)
  • Lesser fish-eagleEnglish
  • Lesser fishing eagleEnglish
  • عقاب السمك الصغيرArabic
  • Хималайски морски орелBulgarian
  • pigarg menorCatalan
  • orel rybožravýCzech
  • Lille FlodørnDanish
  • BraunschwanzseeadlerGerman
  • Braunschwanz-SeeadlerGerman
  • eta maragloEsperanto
  • Pigargo menorSpanish
  • Pigarguillo menorSpanish
  • väike-jõgikotkasEstonian
  • pikkukalakotkaFinnish
  • Pygargue nainFrench
  • smeđorepi štekavacCroatian
  • barnafarkú vízisasHungarian
  • Elang Ikan KecilIndonesian
  • Elang-ikan kecilIndonesian
  • Aquila pescatrice minoreItalian
  • コウオクイワシJapanese
  • mažasis erelis žvejysLithuanian
  • ചെറിയ മീൻപരുന്ത്Malayalam
  • Burung Helang KangokMalay
  • Kleine RivierarendDutch
  • småelveørnNorwegian
  • rybożer brunatnyPolish
  • pigargo-pequenoPortuguese
  • Águia-pesqueira-pequenaPortuguese
  • Малый рыболовRussian
  • Малый рыбный орёлRussian
  • Малый орлан-рыболовRussian
  • orliak malýSlovak
  • Mali belorepanSerbian
  • mindre fiskörnSwedish
  • เหยี่ยวปลาเล็กหัวเทาThai
  • Küçük Balıkçı KartalTurkish
  • орлан-рибалка малийUkrainian
  • 渔雕Chinese
  • 小漁鵰Chinese
  • 漁雕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the lesser fish eagle

Other species in the same genus Icthyophaga.

CompareLesser fish eagle vs Grey-headed fish eagleLesser fish eagle vs White-bellied sea eagleLesser fish eagle vs Solomon sea-eagleLesser fish eagle vs Cape sea-eagle

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the lesser fish eagle?

An adult lesser fish eagle weighs 782 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the lesser fish eagle endangered?

The lesser fish eagle is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.

What kind of animal is the lesser fish eagle?

The lesser fish eagle (Icthyophaga humilis) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Lesser fish eagle (Icthyophaga humilis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-fish-eagle

MLA

“Lesser fish eagle (Icthyophaga humilis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-fish-eagle.

BibTeX
@misc{lesser_fish_eagle_2026,
  title = {Lesser fish eagle (Icthyophaga humilis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-fish-eagle},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}