Page 18 - Animals of the Sakhalin Region in myths and legends

E Eagle, Steller’s sea Eagle

(Haliaeetus pelagicus)

The total length of the bird is 105–112 cm. The wingspan is from 195
to 250 cm, the record is 287 cm. The weight of females varies from 6.2 to
9.5 kg, while males are much lighter (4.9–6.8 kg). In adult birds, the color
consists of a combination of dark brown with white (but there is also a
monochrome dark brown variation). The forehead, tibia plumage, small
and medium wing coverts, as well as tail wings are white, the rest of the
plumage is dark brown. Males and females are colored the same, the final
outfit is worn at the age of three. The eyes are light brown, the massive beak
is yellowish-brown, the wax and paws are yellow, the claws are black. The
beak is very massive, larger than that of all other living eagles. The toes
are relatively short and strong, with spines on the underside of the toes,
and the claws are shorter and more strongly curved than those of eagles
of comparable size living in forests and fields. It feeds mainly on large
and mediumsized fish (especially salmon), mammals (hares, young arctic
foxes, young seals), carrion.
Steller’s sea eagle nests on the Kamchatka Peninsula, about. Onekotan
in the Kuril Islands, in the coastal zone around the Sea of Okhotsk, in the
lower reaches of the river. Amur, in the north of Sakhalin and on the Shantar
Islands. All year round, Steller’s sea eagles are also present in the north of
Sakhalin and on the continental sea coast in the area of the lower Amur.

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