Steller's sea eagle

Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It was originally described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. No subspecies are recognised. A sturdy eagle, it has dark brown plumage with white wings and tail, and yellow beak and talons. On average, it is the heaviest eagle in the world, at about 5 to 9 kg (11 to 20 lb), but may be below the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) and Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) in some standard measurements.^[3]

It lives in coastal northeastern Asia and mainly preys on fish and water birds. The Kamchatka Peninsula in Far Eastern Russia is known for its relatively large population of these birds. Around 4,000 of these eagles live there.^[4] Steller's sea eagle is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red Listof Endangered species.

This species was first described as Aquila pelagica by Prussian naturalist Peter Simon Pallas, in 1811.^[5] The species name is the Ancient Greek pelagos "the open sea/ocean".^[6] Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck named it Falco leucopterus"white winged eagle" in 1824,^[7] and Heinrich von Kittlitz called it Falco imperator in 1832.^[8] George Robert Gray moved the species into the genus Haliaeetus in 1849.^[9]

"Steller's sea eagle" has been designated the official name by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).^[10] It is named after the German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller.^[11] It is also known as Steller's fish eagle, Pacific sea eagle or white-shouldered eagle.^[3] In Russian, the eagle has been called morskoi orel (sea eagle), pestryi morskoi orel (mottled sea eagle) or beloplechii orlan (white-shouldered eagle). In Japanese, it is called ō-washi (large eagle or great eagle).^[12]