Bird Guide

Bald Eagle vs Steller's Sea Eagle

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Huge4.7 kgWetland

The plumage of an adult bald eagle is evenly dark brown with a white head and tail. The tail is moderately long and slightly wedge shaped. Males and females are identical in plumage coloration, but sexual dimorphism is evident in the species, in that females are 25% larger than males. The beak, feet and irises are bright yellow. The legs are feather free, and the toes are short and powerful with large talons. The highly developed talon of the hind toe is used to pierce the vital areas of prey while it is held immobile by the front toes. The beak is large and hooked, with a yellow cere.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Bald Eagle
Recorded by Rachel Thurman · Call · Riverside Rotary Park (near Juneau), Juneau City and Borough, Alaska, United States · CC BY 4.0
Photo: Michael Gäbler · CC BY 3.0
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus)

Steller's Sea Eagle

Haliaeetus pelagicus

Huge7.8 kgWetland

Mature H. pelagicus eagles have mostly dark brown to black plumage, with strongly contrasting white on the lesser and median upper-wing coverts, under-wing coverts, thighs, under-tail coverts, and tail. Their diamond-shaped, white tails are relatively longer than those of the white-tailed eagle. The bold, pied coloration of adults may play some part in social hierarchies with other eagles of their own species during the nonbreeding season, although this has not been extensively studied. A very rare dark morph, once regarded as a separate subspecies, H. p. Voice: Steller's sea eagle is known to make a deep barking cry, ra-ra-ra-raurau. In aggressive interactions, its call is similar to the white-tailed eagles, but deeper. During the display at the beginning of the breeding season, they have been heard to make calls to each other that sound like very loud, deep-voiced gulls.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Michael Pinczolits · CC BY 2.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Bald Eagle and Steller's Sea Eagle.