White-tailed Eagle

birds of prey · powerful hunters · Eurasia

Giant flying hunter. The white-tailed eagle is one of the largest birds of prey in the world, with wings that can stretch up to 7 feet wide. These powerful hunters use their incredible eyesight and strength to catch fish, ducks, and other animals from the water and ground.

Hunting from the water. Unlike many other eagles, white-tailed eagles are specialists at snatching fish right out of rivers and lakes. They dive down with amazing speed and grab their prey with sharp talons before flying back to their nests.

Spread across Eurasia. These magnificent birds live across Europe and Asia in areas near water, from Greenland all the way to Japan. They prefer places with big forests and clean rivers where they can find plenty of fish to eat.

Enormous stick nests. White-tailed eagles build some of the biggest nests of any bird, made from sticks piled up in tall trees near the water. The same pair often returns to the same nest year after year, adding more sticks until it becomes truly massive.

Many names around the world. People call this eagle by lots of different names including sea eagle, erne, and gray sea eagle depending on where they live. All these names describe the same incredible bird with its distinctive white tail and gray body.