Haliaeetus leucoryphus

Pallas's Fish Eagle is a large bird of prey with no subspecies.

Pallas's Fish Eagle lives in open areas with lakes, rivers and ponds, and can live in plains or plateau lake areas. It mainly feeds on fish and waterfowl. They often catch various waterfowl on the water surface, such as wild geese, swan chicks and other birds, and also eat frogs and reptiles. They mainly fish in shallow water, and also eat dead fish and other animal carcasses. Sometimes they steal domestic waterfowl and other birds' food. They often stand on trees or banks for a long time, motionlessly observing the activities of prey, and immediately attack when they have the chance. They make very little noise when taking off, so the success rate of predation is very high. The Stellar Sea Eagle living in the Trans-Baikal region mainly feeds on fish, and also eats some mice, rabbits and swans. When it comes to the season when fish migrate to spawn, it will come to rivers or lakes in groups to prey on fish. In grasslands and deserts, it mainly feeds on rodents such as marmots, yellow mice, and pikas. Occasionally, it also eats lambs, especially in the lambing season from April to May.

The call of the Stellar Sea Eagle is loud and noisy, which is another important feature of it. When it soars in the sky, its high cry can be heard from several kilometers away, especially during the breeding season.

The breeding season of the Stellar Sea Eagle is from November to May of the following year. Usually nests are built on tall trees on the shores of lakes, rivers or swamps, occasionally nests are built near fishing villages or on trees far from the water, and occasionally nests are built on reed piles. In forest-deficient areas, nests are built on the ground in the reeds or in the cracks of high mountain cliffs. The nest is built with thick branches, and thin branches, animal hair, etc. are laid inside. The main structure of the nest is relatively large, mainly composed of dead branches and reeds, with a diameter of about 1 meter, a height of about 65 cm, and a depth of 20 cm. Sometimes it invades the nests of other birds such as crows. Each clutch contains 2-4 eggs, with a shiny white shell and smooth, spotless appearance. The female incubates the eggs for 30-40 days. The chicks are altricial and are raised by the parents before leaving the nest for 70-105 days.

In 2016, based on surveys and valid data on the existing distribution of the Stellar Sea Eagle, the population was estimated to be well below 2,500 mature individuals. Therefore, the species is thought to be between 1,000-2,499 mature individuals. The global population is thought to include a single migratory population, rather than multiple isolated subpopulations (Steele 2017).

Due to a decline in reporting rates across the range of the Stellar Sea Eagle (Steele 2017), it is inferred that the species is declining, possibly due to the loss, degradation, and disturbance of its wetland habitat. The overall rate of decline has not been quantified.

Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) 2021 ver3.1 - Endangered (EN).  

Listed in Appendix I, II and III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 2019 Edition Appendix II.

Listed in the first level of China's "National List of Key Protected Wildlife" on February 5, 2021.

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Breeding grounds: Bangladesh, Bhutan and India.
Non-breeding grounds: China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Russia (Central Asia, East Asia), Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Migrant birds: Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan.
Resident birds: Nepal and Turkmenistan.
Suspected extinct: Iran.
Wandering (non-breeding grounds): Cambodia, Iraq, Israel, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Wandering: Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia (Europe) and Ukraine.
Suspected extinct and wandering: Thailand.
In China, it is distributed in Xinjiang Hejing, Kashgar, Qinghai Lake, Tianjun, Yushu in Qinghai, Lanzhou, Heshui, Tianshui, Hexi Corridor and Tianzhu in Gansu, Ikh Zhao League and Hulun Lake in Inner Mongolia, Qiqihar in Heilongjiang, Nagqu, Ali, Lhasa, Shannan, Shigatse, Qamdo in Tibet, Songpan, Ruoergai, Hongyuan, Shiqu in Sichuan and other places. But it is rare in all places. It is a resident or breeding bird in Xinjiang, a summer migratory bird in Heilong

76-84 cm long, with a wingspan of 200-250 cm. The beak is slightly thin, the head is slender, and the neck is also long. The wings can be spread out in the air up to 2 meters long. The female bird has similar feathers to the male bird, but is slightly larger.
Feather color: dark brown on the upper body, ochre brown on the top of the head, the feathers are spear-shaped and have light brown stripes; the feathers on the neck are longer and lanceolate. The shoulder feathers have brown stripes, the lower back and waist feathers are brown-yellow, and there is a wide white horizontal stripe in the middle of the tail feathers. The lower body is brown-brown, and each feather has a light brown feather tip. The throat is light brown-brown, and the feather shaft is black with white stripes. The tail is round, dark brown, with a wide white horizontal stripe in the middle, about 10 cm wide, which is very obvious, and the bird is named after it. When flying, the dark round tail and the wide white