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

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

Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Nicolas Day, Ken Simpson, Peter Trusler.This is known to birdwatchers as "Simpson and Day". I like the pictures in this one the best out of all the major field guides. The information is still very highly regarded compared to most of the other guides. Many serious birdwatchers think "Pizzey and Knight" (listed here) is the best though. I bought this one since I liked the pictures so much I figured (correctly) that I would spend more time looking through it. I feel that I made the right choice since I love the pictures in this one so much. I have the 6th edition, the current one is the updated version of the 8th edition, which has a different colour cover to the original 8th edition with a black cover. I'm not sure why they haven't called this the 9th edition.

Purchase 8th ed. updated from Australia (Booktopia)

Purchase 8th ed. updated from Australia (Angus & Robertson)

Click here to purchase 8th ed. updated version from Australia (The Nile)

Click here to purchase from Australia (Fishpond)

Click here to purchase 8th ed. original version from Amazon

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