White-tailed eagle
Haliaeetus albicilla (Linnaeus, 1758)
The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae and the order Accipitriformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 4.7 kg, ranging from 4.0 to 5.6 kg in our sources, and a wingspan of 2.18 m.
Quick facts about the white-tailed eagle
The white-tailed eagle is an aerial, carnivorous aquatic predator of rocky habitats, and it is partially migratory. It lays a clutch of 2 eggs once a year, incubates them for 39.5 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 4.01 kg – 5.57 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 2.18 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 29.8 years – 42 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- rockysrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 39.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 4 years – 4.74 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the white-tailed eagle?
Photos of the white-tailed eagle
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the white-tailed eagle live?
Not recorded
What is the white-tailed eagle?
The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), sometimes known as the "sea eagle", is a large bird of prey, widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like other eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which also includes other diurnal raptors such as hawks, kites, and harriers. One of up to eleven members in the genus Haliaeetus, which are commonly called sea eagles, it is also referred to as the white-tailed sea-eagle. Sometimes, it is known as the ern or erne (depending on spelling by sources), gray sea eagle and Eurasian sea eagle.
While found across a wide range, breeding from as far west as Greenland and Iceland across to as far east as Hokkaido, Japan, they may be scarce and have thinly distributed nesting due to human activities, including habitat alteration and destruction of wetlands, about a century of systematic human persecution (from the early 1800s to around World War II) followed by inadvertent poisoning and epidemics of nesting failure due to chemical pesticides and organic compounds, which have threatened eagles since the 1950s and continue to be a concern. For these reasons, the white-tailed eagle was considered endangered or extinct in several countries. Some populations have since recovered well, due to governmental protection, dedicated conservationists and naturalists protecting habitats and nesting sites, regulating poaching and pesticide usage, as well as careful reintroduction into their former range.
White-tailed eagles live most of the year near large bodies of open water, including coastal saltwater areas and inland freshwater lakes, wetlands, bogs and rivers. It requires old-growth trees or ample sea cliffs for nesting, and an abundant food supply of fish and birds (largely water birds) over nearly any other prey. Both a powerful apex predator and an opportunistic scavenger, it forms a species pair with the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), which occupies a similar niche in North America.
From the Wikipedia article “White-tailed eagle” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White-tailed_eagle&oldid=1382612949), 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 white-tailed eagle endangered?
The white-tailed eagle is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the white-tailed eagle classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusHaliaeetus
- SpeciesHaliaeetus albicilla (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Aquila albicilla, Aquila islandica, Aquila pygargus, Falco albicilla, Falco cera flava, Falco ossifraga, Falco ossifraga, Haliaeetus angustipes, Haliaeetus nisus, Haliaeetus nisus, Haliaetos cinereus, Haliaetos funereus, Haliaetus albicilla, Ossifraga albicilla, Pandion albicilla, Pygargus vulturinus, Vultur albicilla
Other names and names in other languages (116)
- Grey sea eagleEnglish
- White-tailed eagle (sea eagle)English
- White-tailed sea eagleEnglish
- White-tailed sea-eagleEnglish
- عقاب أبيض الذنبArabic
- عقاب ابيض الذنبArabic
- عقاب البحر أبيض الذيلArabic
- عقاب البحر بيضاء الذيلArabic
- Alica marinaAragonese
- pigarguAsturian
- Ağquyruq dəniz qartalıAzerbaijani
- Арлан-белахвостBelarusian
- Морски орелBulgarian
- Белоопашат морски орелBulgarian
- Morerer lost gwennBreton
- Orao štekavacBosnian
- Àguila marinaCatalan
- pigarg cuablancCatalan
- ОшпачMari
- КолгучкыжMari
- Ош пачан колгучкыжMari
- Шур хӱреллӗ мӑнкайӑкChuvash
- Шур хӳреллĕ ăмăрткайăкChuvash
- orel mořskýCzech
- eryr môrWelsh
- Eryr y MôrWelsh
- Eryrod MôrWelsh
- SeeadlerGerman
- ΘαλασσαετόςGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκός ΘαλασσαετόςGreek
- (Ευρωπαϊκός) ΘαλασσαετόςGreek
- blankvosta maragloEsperanto
- Pigargo europeoSpanish
- Pigargo ColiblancoSpanish
- Pigargo Coliblanco de GroenlandiaSpanish
- merikotkasEstonian
- Itsas arrano buztanzuri(a)Basque
- عقاب دریایی دم سفیدPersian
- merikotkaFinnish
- Pygargue à queue blancheFrench
- GusiarnNorthern Frisian
- See-earnWestern Frisian
- Iolair MaraIrish
- EarnScottish Gaelic
- Iolair mharaScottish Gaelic
- iolair-uisgeScottish Gaelic
- iolair(e)-mharaScottish Gaelic
- iolairean-maraScottish Gaelic
- iolairean-uisgeScottish Gaelic
- iolar maraScottish Gaelic
- Águia mariñaGalician
- Urley ErneManx
- Urley marreyManx
- Orao bjelorepan / орао бјелорепанSerbian (Latin)
- עיטם לבן זנבHebrew
- עיטם לבן-זנבHebrew
- štekavacCroatian
- rétisasHungarian
- Արծիվ սպիտակապոչArmenian
- HaförnIcelandic
- aquila di mareItalian
- aquila di mare a coda biancaItalian
- Aquile di mare a coda biancaItalian
- オジロワシJapanese
- თეთრკუდა ფსოვიGeorgian
- NattoralikKalaallisut
- Хузургулkjn
- Аққұйрықты субүркітKazakh
- Аққұйрықты субүркітіKazakh
- 흰꼬리수리Korean
- Er an morCornish
- SéiadlerLuxembourgish
- jūrinis erelisLithuanian
- paprastasis jūrinis erelisLithuanian
- jūras ērglisLatvian
- белоопашест орелMacedonian
- വെള്ളവാലൻ കടൽപ്പരുന്ത്Malayalam
- Ajkla tad-Denb AbajdMaltese
- Усны цагаан суулт бургэдMongolian
- पांढर्या शेपटीची घारMarathi
- Burung Lang Ekor PutihMalay
- havørnNorwegian Bokmål
- zeearendDutch
- ଶତୃସଲOdia
- bielikPolish
- bielik (zwyczajny)Polish
- Águia-rabalvaPortuguese
- PigargoPortuguese
- Pigargo-comumPortuguese
- pigargo-eurasiáticoPortuguese
- pigargo-europeuPortuguese
- Evla da marRomansh
- codalbRomanian
- codalbulRomanian
- орлан-белохвостRussian
- БоруллуоYakut
- MearragoaskinNorthern Sami
- orliak morskýSlovak
- belorepecSlovenian
- shqipja e detitAlbanian
- shqiponja e detitAlbanian
- BelorepanSerbian
- Орао белорепанSerbian
- Orao belorepan / Орао белорепанSerbian
- havsörnSwedish
- นกอินทรีหางขาวThai
- akkuyruk kartalTurkish
- Ak Kuyruklu KartalTurkish
- Bayağı Deniz KartalıTurkish
- Ак кудуруктуг орланTuvinian
- Орлан-білохвостUkrainian
- Скоб білохвостийUkrainian
- Орлан-білохвістUkrainian
- Đại bàng đuôi trắngVietnamese
- 白尾海雕Chinese
- 白尾海鵰Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the white-tailed eagle
Other species in the same genus Haliaeetus.
Bald eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Pallas's fish eagle
Haliaeetus leucoryphus
Steller's sea eagle
Haliaeetus pelagicus
CompareWhite-tailed eagle vs Bald eagleWhite-tailed eagle vs Pallas's fish eagleWhite-tailed eagle vs Steller's sea eagle
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the white-tailed eagle?
The white-tailed eagle is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes.
How heavy is the white-tailed eagle?
An adult White-tailed eagle weighs 4.7 kg, with values from 4.0 to 5.6 kg reported by our sources. Its wingspan is 2.18 m.
What does the white-tailed eagle eat?
The white-tailed eagle is a carnivore classed as an aquatic predator.
Is the white-tailed eagle endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the white-tailed eagle live?
The white-tailed eagle has a lifespan of 29.8 years, with up to 42 years reported by our sources.
How many eggs does the white-tailed eagle lay?
It lays 2 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year, with an incubation period of 39.5 days.
When does the white-tailed eagle reach sexual maturity?
It reaches sexual maturity at 4.4 years, with values from 4.0 to 4.7 years reported by our sources.
Who named the white-tailed eagle?
Haliaeetus albicilla was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-eagle
“White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-eagle.
@misc{white_tailed_eagle_2026,
title = {White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-eagle},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}