White-Bellied Sea-Eagle

Haliaeetus leucogaster

Other Names: White-breasted Sea Eagle, "Manly Sea Eagle" (NRL)
Family: Accipitridae (Osprey, Hawks, Eagles, 18 species in Australia)
Size: F 80-85 cm, M 75-77 cm, wingspan 190 cm approx
Distribution: Coasts all around Australia and inland in some places of Eastern Australia up to 1000 km
Status: Moderately Common
Habitat: Large rivers, fresh and saline lakes, reservoirs, coastal seas, islands.
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest

The White-Bellied Sea-Eagle is Australia's second largest bird of prey after the Wedge-Tailed Eagle. It is the mascot of the National Rugby League (NRL) team the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

White-Bellied Sea-Eagle - Haliaeetus leucogaster
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (3008 x 2000)

White-Bellied Sea-Eagle - Haliaeetus leucogaster
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (1868 x 1782)

White-Bellied Sea-Eagle - Haliaeetus leucogaster
Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.

Some Birdwatching Resources

Field Guide to Australian Birds, by Michael Morcombe. This one has colour drawings of the eggs and the nests which not many other field guides do (I can't think of any that do). It's an excellent field guide and one of the four main ones (the other three being above this one). The weakness of this field guide is that some of the pictures of the birds aren't as good (or accurate) as the other three most used field guides. It's also the heaviest though there is a pocket edition which is much smaller and lighter.

Purchase from Australia (Booktopia)

Purchase from Australia (Angus & Robertson)

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight. This is the other of the two best bird field guides for Australia. It is the one preferred by many serious birdwatchers. However I find the pictures a bit dull looking for my taste — the birds all kind of look the same to me, making it harder to remember them in my mind. The illustrations are meant to be the most anatomically correct, though. The text descriptions are better than in Simpson and Day. If you want the most serious bird field guide get this one otherwise get Simpson and Day.

Purchase 9th ed. from Australia (Booktopia)

Purchase 9th ed. from Australia (Angus & Robertson)

Click here to purchase 9th ed. from Australia (The Nile)

Click here to purchase from Australia (Fishpond)

Click here to preorder the 9th ed. from Amazon

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