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The grey-headed fish eagle is a smallish to medium-sized but quite bulky fish eagle, with a small bill, a small head on long neck, rounded tail and shortish legs with unfeathered tarsi and long talons. Wings are not very long and wingtips reach less than halfway down tail. Males and females are sexually dimorphic. The grey-headed fish eagle has a body length of 61–75 cm (24–30 in). Females are heavier than males at 2.3–2.7 kg (5.1–6.0 lb) compared to 1.6 kg (3.5 lb). The tail measures between 23–28 cm (9.1–11.0 in) and the tarsus 8.5–10 cm (3.3–3.9 in). Voice: The calls of the grey-headed fish eagle include a gurgling awh-awhr and chee-warr repeated 5–6 times, an owlish ooo-wok, ooo-wok, ooo-wok, a nasally honking uh-wuk and a loud high pitched scream. These begin as subdued low short notes each succeeding one more strongly upturned and more strident then previous then dying away again and are uttered from a perch or on the wing.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Grey-headed Fish Eagle
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is February, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Grey-headed Fish Eagle
The map shades 13 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
About the Grey-headed Fish Eagle
The grey-headed fish eagle is a fish-eating bird of prey from Southeast Asia. It is a large stocky raptor with adults having dark brown upper body, grey head and lighter underbelly and white legs. Juveniles are paler with darker streaking. It is often confused with the lesser fish eagle and the Pallas's fish eagle. The lesser fish eagle is similar in plumage but smaller and the Pallas's fish eagle shares the same habitat and feeding behaviour but is larger with longer wings and darker underparts. Is often called tank eagle in Sri Lanka due to its fondness for irrigation tanks.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Lesser Fish EagleIcthyophaga humilisThe lesser fish eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey that is primarily gray-brown in colour with broad, blunt wings and coarse featherless legs.
Madagascar Fish EagleIcthyophaga vociferoidesThe Madagascar fish eagle is a medium-sized sea eagle, 60–66 cm (23.5–26 in) long and with a wingspan of 165–180 cm (65–71 in).
Side by side: Grey-headed Fish Eagle vs White-bellied Sea Eagle · African Fish Eagle vs Grey-headed Fish Eagle · Crowned Eagle vs Grey-headed Fish Eagle · Grey-headed Fish Eagle vs Lesser Fish Eagle
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