{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Taxon",
  "slug": "white-tailed-eagle",
  "name": "White-tailed Eagle",
  "scientificName": "Haliaeetus albicilla",
  "category": "Bird",
  "summary": "The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is a huge sea eagle of northern Europe and Asia, with broad 'barn door' wings, a pale head and a short, wedge-shaped white tail. It hunts fish and waterbirds along coasts, lakes and rivers and eats carrion. Wiped out in Britain by the early 1900s, it has been reintroduced there and is increasing across Europe. It is listed as Least Concern.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Identification",
      "body": "Adults are brown with a paler, sandy head, a massive yellow bill and a short white tail shaped like a wedge. In flight the long, broad, plank-like wings with fingered tips explain the nickname 'flying barn door'. Young birds are darker all over and take about five years to gain adult plumage."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Hunting and diet",
      "body": "BirdLife describes its food as vertebrates from sea, freshwater and land: mainly fish, plus birds such as ducks, gulls and seabirds, and mammals. It snatches fish from the surface, steals prey from ospreys and otters, and eats carrion, especially in winter."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Return to Britain",
      "body": "Persecution made the species extinct in Britain in the early 20th century. Birds from Norway were released on the Scottish island of Rum from 1975, and later on the Scottish east coast and the Isle of Wight. Scotland now has a growing breeding population."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Status",
      "body": "BirdLife International lists the white-tailed eagle as Least Concern (2021), estimating 20,000 to 60,000 mature birds and an increasing trend. Recovery followed bans on DDT and other organochlorine pesticides and better legal protection; poisoning, lead and collisions with wind turbines remain threats."
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "Is the white-tailed eagle the largest eagle in Europe?",
      "answer": "It is one of Europe's largest birds of prey by wingspan. The bearded vulture and griffon vulture are larger, and golden eagles can be similar in weight."
    },
    {
      "question": "Where can you see white-tailed eagles in the UK?",
      "answer": "Most live on the west coast and islands of Scotland, such as Mull and Skye. A small reintroduced population lives on and around the Isle of Wight."
    },
    {
      "question": "What is the difference between a white-tailed eagle and a golden eagle?",
      "answer": "White-tailed eagles have a pale head, a short white tail, a heavier bill and broader, more rectangular wings. Golden eagles have a longer dark tail and golden nape, and hunt mainly mammals and gamebirds inland."
    },
    {
      "question": "How long do white-tailed eagles live?",
      "answer": "BTO ringing data give a typical life expectancy of about 20 years for birds that reach breeding age."
    }
  ],
  "sourceUpdate": null,
  "evidence": [],
  "conservationStatus": "Least Concern",
  "taxonomy": {
    "kingdom": "Animalia",
    "phylum": "Chordata",
    "class": "Aves",
    "order": "Accipitriformes",
    "family": "Accipitridae",
    "genus": "Haliaeetus"
  },
  "stats": {
    "weightKg": 4.7,
    "lengthM": 0,
    "topSpeedKmh": 0,
    "lifespanYears": 20
  },
  "facts": [
    {
      "label": "Scientific name",
      "value": "Haliaeetus albicilla"
    },
    {
      "label": "Other name",
      "value": "White-tailed sea eagle, erne"
    },
    {
      "label": "Diet",
      "value": "Fish, waterbirds, mammals and carrion"
    },
    {
      "label": "Habitat",
      "value": "Coasts, large lakes and river valleys with old trees or cliffs"
    },
    {
      "label": "Weight",
      "value": "Average about 4.7 kg; females larger"
    },
    {
      "label": "Lifespan",
      "value": "Typically about 20 years"
    },
    {
      "label": "Conservation status",
      "value": "Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2021)"
    }
  ],
  "range": {
    "nativeRange": "Coasts, lakes and rivers of northern and eastern Europe and northern Asia east to Japan, plus south-west Greenland; reintroduced to Scotland, Ireland and England.",
    "continents": [
      "Europe",
      "Asia",
      "North America"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "citation": "BirdLife International (2026). Species factsheet: White-tailed Sea-eagle Haliaeetus albicilla. BirdLife DataZone. Checked 1 November 2026.",
      "url": "https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/white-tailed-sea-eagle-haliaeetus-albicilla"
    },
    {
      "citation": "BTO BirdFacts: White-tailed Eagle. British Trust for Ornithology.",
      "url": "https://www.bto.org/learn/about-birds/birdfacts/white-tailed-eagle"
    },
    {
      "citation": "Tobias, J. A. et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. doi:10.1111/ele.13898",
      "url": null
    },
    {
      "citation": "Gill, F., Donsker, D. & Rasmussen, P. (Eds). IOC World Bird List v15.2.",
      "url": "https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/"
    }
  ],
  "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/white-tailed-eagle/",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
    "attribution": "Global Animal Guide — https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/white-tailed-eagle/",
    "note": "Free to reuse for non-commercial purposes with attribution and a link back to the canonical page."
  }
}