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White-bellied Fish Eagle
Haliaeetus leucogaster
White-bellied Sea Eagle, Lang Laut/Siput (Malay)



The White-bellied Fish Eagle is the largest raptor in Singapore: with a wingspan of 50cm and body length of 70cm.

White-bellied Fish Eagles are more commonly seen on warm early mornings riding the coastal thermals, holding their wings in a V-shape (other raptors hold them horizontally).

White-bellied Fish Eagles hunt prey that are found near the water surface mainly sea snakes, and fish. But other prey include birds, turtles, swimming crabs and even bats. They may also scavenge on refuse; a few haunt harbours for this purpose.

A White-bellied Sea Eagle was once observed dropping large crabs onto rocks 30-40 m below, but this is not common behaviour. If they are not feeding young, they eat their catch on the wing. They usually forage in pairs.
Mangrove and wetland wildlife at
Sungei Buloh Nature Park
Main features: Large (60-70cm); long broad wings which are narrower at the tip; tail wedge-shaped. White head, neck and underparts; upperparts grey; feet and bill grey. From below, white wing coverts with black flight feathers; tail white, black at the base. From above: wings all dark.

Adult: As above, appears only at age 5-6 years.

Juvenile: Plumage pale brown mottled; no white and grey; sometimes with dark breast band. From below, wing coverts pale brown with paler base of primaries and black flight feathers; tail pale with black tip.
juvenile in flight
Juvenile
Photo from
Morten Strange
Call: Described as goose-like honking, loud clanging, yelping, barking, series of loud screaming.

In flight: Heavy flapping flight, wings held in a characteristic shallow V-shape.

Status in Singapore: Fairly common resident throughout, including North and South offshore islands.

World distribution: Coastal areas of India through China to the Philippines and Australia.

Similar birds: Brahminy Kite (Haliatur indus) looks like an immature White-bellied. The adult White-bellied's white extends to the belly, wings and tail and the rest is grey instead of bronze.

Classification: Family Accipitridae. World 240 species, Singapore 27 species.
adult in flight
Photo from
Morten Strange
and Allen Jeyarajasingam
 Like other raptors, they have excellent eyesight. To forage, they circle on a thermal to gain height, then glide over water usually low and within 1 km from the shore.

They catch their prey by skimming the water surface then snagging the prey in their talons with a backward slash. They don't plunge into the water like Osprey do.

White-bellied Fish Eagles don't appear to be highly territorial towards others of their kind. But they make loud harsh cries near important spots like a perch or nest. These can be heard up to 1 km away, perhaps helping to space out the birds and avoid confrontations.
White-bellied Fish Eagles are found mainly on the coast, wooded rocky shores and mangroves. Sometimes also near inland reservoirs or rivers.
Breeding: White-bellied Fish Eagles appear to pair for life. Pairs may perform aerial displays which include locking talons and tumbling together through the air to the accompaniment of loud goose-like honking.

In choosing a nest site, White-bellied Fish Eagles go for height, choosing the tallest objects near coasts or other large bodies of water (e.g., reservoirs).

Juvenile badgering an adult?
These include tall emergent trees in mangroves, and man-made pylons; when a taller pylon is built nearby, they often shift to the taller one! They may also nest on islands, sometimes on a small tree growing on a cliff face. The nest can be huge (1.5 m across and 2 m tall) and is made of sticks, lined with green vegetation. The same nest is reused every breeding season and built up until it becomes a giant pile of sticks. If the original pair do not return, another pair soon takes over the old nest.

2 bluish white eggs are laid. The female incubates while the male feeds her and defends the nest from other birds and intruders.

Migration? White-bellied Fish Eagles are sedentary and don't migrate. But immatures and unpaired adults may wander over a large area. Mated pairs tend to stay near their nesting site.

Their Malay name Burung Hamba Siput means "Slave to Shellfish" and refers to the traditional belief that their screams told shellfish of the change in tides and when it was safe to come out.
 Status and threats: Although White-bellied Fish Eagles appear quite tolerant of humans and are conspicuous, they are not present in large numbers in their range, and their numbers appear to be declining. They are threatened by habitat loss which removes suitable nesting sites and prey. Nevertheless, in Singapore, their numbers appear to be stable with a stronghold around the water catchment areas.

LINKS REFERENCES
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  • Morten Strange, "A Photographic Guide to Birds of Malaysia and Singapore: including Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Borneo", Periplus, 2000 (p. 73: description, voice, habits, distribution, status, photo).
  • Morten Strange, "Tropical Birds of Malaysia and Singapore", Periplus Editions, 2000 (p. 12: habits, habitat, photo).
  • David R Wells, "The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 1 (Non-Passarines)", Academic Press, 1999 (p. 136-138: identification, distribution map, habits, habitat, migration, conservation).
  • Lim Kim Seng, "Pocket Checklist of the Birds of the Republic of Singapore", Nature Society (Singapore), 1999 (Abundance, status, Chinese and Malay names).
  • Morten Strange, "Birds of Southeast Asia: A photographic guide to the birds of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia", New Holland, 1998 (p. 19: photo, facts).
  • Lim Kim Seng and Dana Gardner, "Birds: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Birds of Singapore", Sun Tree Publishing Ltd., 1997 (p. 73: identification, status in Singapore, distribution, diagram, number of species).
  • G W H Davison and Chew Yen Fook, "A Photographic Guide to Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore", New Holland Publishers Ltd., 1995 (p. 23: identification, status in Singapore, distribution, photo).
  • Morten Strange and Allen Jeyarajasingam, "Birds: A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore", Sun Tree Publishing, 1993 (p. 115: description, distribution, habits, habitat, photo).
  • Clive Briffett, "A Guide to the Common Birds of Singapore", BP Science Centre,1992 (p. 53: habit, habitat).
  • Christopher Hails, "Birds of Singapore" illustrated by Frank Jarvis, Times Editions, 1987 reprinted 1995 (p. 63: habits, description, status in Singapore, and lovely drawings of the birds).
  • Lim Kim Seng, "Vanishing Birds of Singapore", Nature Society (Singapore), 1992 (p. 6: status in Singapore).
  • M W F Tweedie, "Common Birds of the Malay Peninsula", Longman,1970 (p. 18: description, distribution, habits, habitat, drawing).
  • G C Madoc, "An Introduction to Malayan Birds", Malayan Nature Society, 1947 (p. 62-63: description, habits, habitat).
  • Sir John A S Bucknill and E N Chasen, "Birds of Singapore and South-East Asia", Tynron Press, 1927, edition 1990 (p. 95-97: identification, status in Singapore, distribution, field notes on habits, drawings).
  • Prof. Dr. Yong Hoi Sen (ed.), "The Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Animals"; Birds of Prey by Siti Hawa bt Yatim, Editions Didier Millet, 1998 (p. 42-43: habits, habitats).
 
By Ria Tan, 2001