# White-tailed eagle (*Haliaeetus albicilla*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-eagle  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 4.01 kg – 5.57 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 2.18 m |
| Lifespan | 29.8 years – 42 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | rocky |
| Egg incubation | 39.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2 |
| Age at maturity | 4 years – 4.74 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Aerial |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Accipitriformes
- family: Accipitridae
- genus: Haliaeetus
- species: *Haliaeetus 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*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-eagle