The Steller's sea eagle
The Steller's sea eagle is the
largest eagle in the world. It is a huge
and powerful bird of prey. It lives in
Northeast Asia and North America, although it is also found along the Alaska
coast at times. Its weight reaches
approximately 9 kg with wings longer than 2.4 metres.
eagle
of the sea meaning
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| ?Is Steller's sea eagle the biggest |
?What are the details about the owl
Eagle of the sea:
Often called the world’s most magnificent bird
of prey, the Steller’s sea-eagle is dark, impressive, the largest of all
sea-eagles, and the heaviest known eagle. Despite its large size and attractive
appearance, its habits are not well known.
Is Steller's sea eagle the biggest?
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Like the North American bald eagle,
Steller's eagles often congregate on river systems in the fall to take
advantage of the huge numbers of dead salmon spawning.
seagull eagle of the sea
?Is the Steller's sea eagle the largest
Weight :
The Steller's sea eagle weighs about
nine kilograms, and is characterized by its black back and black head as
well.It has a sharp, strong beak and claws and a sharp, piercing look، It has a superior ability to cling to
its prey and tear it apart easily، These
eagles reach sexual maturity at the age of five and then build a huge nest to
prepare for mating, as they lay their eggs in the fourth month of the year AD,
which takes more than thirty days to hatch
Then the chicks go out to learn how to hunt and fly, and their favorite
food is squid and fish.They also eat some types of vegetables, such as carrots.
eagle of the beach
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Homeland:
During the breeding season in Northeast Asia, marine Steller vultures live along coasts, or along rivers with adjacent forest lands. During migration and in winter, they are often found on coasts, rivers, and bodies of water throughout Japan, and even on open sea ice. Some birds also move to mountainous areas in winter, where they clearly feed heavily on deer that die during harsh winters.
The ferocious thresher or hawala bird
Diet:
The world's largest eagle feeds
abundantly on fish, and also eats many waterfowl, including large birds such as
cranes, geese and swans. They also feed
opportunistically on a variety of mammals, squid, crabs, carrion, and even
small seals.
At the San Diego Zoo, our Steller’s sea-eagles are fed rabbits, rats, and fish on rotating days. Like many of our carnivores, the birds also have fast days where no food is offered so their body can have time to digest the previous
meal.
Behavior:
Stiller hunts in flight and takes small mammals, fish, and seabirds by pouncing on them and catching them with his claws. These eagles have even been seen standing in shallow water or on ice, catching fish swimming alongside them. Like other eagles, Steller's eagles also steal other birds' food.
Nesting:
Steller's sea eagles build huge nests on tree branches, on a slope or in a large tree.
Sea-eagle nests are called aeries, and they are built high in dead or open-topped trees near rivers or on rocky cliffs, up to 100 feet (30 meters) above ground. The massive nests they build sometimes contain 400 or more large branches. The nests are seldom built far from the shoreline, which puts the eagles in proximity to the fish that make up the bulk of their diet. These open sites give the birds easy access to and from their nests.
Typically, a pair returns to the same nest each year and adds a little more to it to prepare for the season’s clutch, but pairs sometimes build and oversee more than one aerie and choose which one to use each spring. Aeries can be 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) wide and can weigh hundreds of pounds. It is not uncommon for a nest to grow so heavy that the branches it sits on break, and the nest comes crashing to the ground.
Steller’s sea-eagles make a deep barking cry, ra-ra-ra-raurau. During breeding season, they make calls that sound like very loud seagulls. Courtship occurs during late winter, and the female starts laying greenish white eggs in mid-spring. One to three eggs are laid; usually only one chick survives, but two and even three babies have been raised successfully. Chicks are altricial, with downy gray-white feathers that gradually change to brown. The young learn to fly when they are about 10 weeks old. The young birds consume about 1 pound (0.4 kilograms) of fish daily by the time they are 5 weeks old.
Little is known about this raptor’s phase from fledging and the first winter migration until it reaches sexual maturity and attains its striking adult plumage. The birds may not even breed until much later.
Eagles and humans:
Steller’s sea-eagles are vulnerable and have been given complete legal protection in Russia, the only place it breeds, and in Japan, where it overwinters. Despite these protections, human behavior continues to harm the remaining sea-eagle population. In Russia, Steller’s are losing their habitat because of the development of hydroelectric power projects and logging in the forested areas where they nest. The rivers where the sea-eagles fish are being contaminated by chemicals from local industries.
In Japan, sea-eagles eat both fish and carrion. Overfishing by humans in Japanese waters has led the birds to scavenge on sika deer remains left by hunters. Eating carrion filled with lead shot from hunters has had devastating effects on the sea-eagle population, leading to the outlawing of lead ammunition on Japan’s Hokkaido Island. As of 2009, the world’s population was estimated at 5,000 birds, but it is slowly decreasing.
Still much to learn:
Very little is known about these eagles, especially their early years. Conservation research efforts began in 1992, at Russia’s Magadan State Nature Reserve. In 2006, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Natural Research, Ltd. teamed up with scientists there to study the movements of young Steller’s sea-eagles in their native habitat to determine the hazards young birds face, in hopes of protecting these birds. Conservation scientists survey nests, and a team member climbs the tree to collect a bird, gently placing it in a bag to be lowered to the ground. The ground crew measures, weighs, and takes tissue samples from the bird. Young eagles get a satellite leg tag so researchers can track its movement.
The team was surprised to discover the extent of persecution these birds are exposed to, despite their protected status throughout its range. Preliminary results show high juvenile mortality, with deaths associated with oil rigs. Nest productivity/chick survival is correlated to snow depth and resulting floods. Fishing and caviar harvesting are major industries in Russia’s Siberia, and they provide offal for sea-eagles to scavenge. However, overfishing can impact the birds’ habits, forcing wintering birds to look inland for food. There, they often prey on deer carcasses, which can contain lead fragments from bullets. Japan responded to this hazard by banning lead bullet use throughout the sea-eagles’ range within their country.
Although legally protected in Russia, Japan, China, and South Korea, other threats to Steller’s sea-eagles include fossil fuel energy developments, wind farms, pollution, habitat loss, hunting, and possibly global warming. By learning more about the threats young sea-eagles face each autumn as they head off on their frosty migrations, it is hoped that this vulnerable bird population may stabilize.
The San Diego Zoo has a pair of Steller’s sea-eagles and has loaned pairs of birds to four other zoos in the US. We hope that seeing these amazing raptors up close will encourage visitors to participate in the conservation of this these sea-eagles
By supporting San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, you are our ally in saving and protecting wildlife worldwide.
Immigration:
Some birds are non-migratory, especially those that nest along the coasts. However, other birds migrate, with some birds moving to Japan or Korea, and others making upward migrations.
Sea eagle numbers:
The sea eagle numbers a few thousand
around the world and its original homeland is Northeast Asia, including Russia
and Japan, and its wingspan reaches eight feet (2.4 meters). "Steller", named after the German
naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, is one of the largest eagles in the world، It often weighs between 13 and 20
pounds (6 to 9 kilograms), which is twice the weight of a bald eagle.
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