190. HALIÆETUS LEUCOGASTER (Gmelin).
WHITE-BREASTED SEA EAGLE.
- Falco leucogaster Gmelin, Syst. Nat. (1788), 1, pt. 1, 257.
- Haliaetus leucogaster Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1874), 1, 307.
- Haliaëtus leucogaster Sharpe, Hand-List (1899), 1, 267; Oates, Cat. Birds’ Eggs (1902), 2, 279; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 43.
Ma-na-ol′, Ticao, Manila.
Bantayan (McGregor); Batan (McGregor); Basilan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol (McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Calayan (McGregor); Camiguin N. (McGregor); Cebu (McGregor); East Bolod (Mearns); Fuga (Whitehead); Luzon (Bourns & Worcester); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindanao (Steere Exp.); Mindoro (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor, Porter); Palawan (Whitehead, Platen, Bourns & Worcester, White); Romblon (Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead); Semirara (McGregor & Worcester); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Siquijor (Bourns & Worcester); Sulu (Bourns & Worcester); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor); Verde (McGregor); Y’Ami (McGregor). Indian Peninsula; Indo-Chinese Provinces; Malay Peninsula to Australia and Oceania.
Adult.—Entire head, neck, and lower parts white, many of the feathers with blackish shafts; tail blackish, its terminal third white; primaries blackish with white bases; axillars and wing-lining white; remainder of wings and upper parts bluish slate-gray, with a slight mixture of brown. Male from Ticao: Iris dark; bill at base and cere horn-blue; bill at tip and nails black; legs and toes white. Length, 685; wing, 550; tail, 230; culmen from base, 52; tarsus, 91. The female is said to be slightly larger.
Young.—Head, chin, and throat buffy or pale yellowish white, more or less streaked with light brown; general color brown, darker above, many of the feathers with lighter brown or whitish shaft-lines which widen at the tips; primaries black with whitish bases; end of tail brown, basal two-thirds white mottled with brown.
The white-breasted sea eagle is widely distributed but nowhere in the Philippines is it abundant. In adult plumage it is easily identified by its white under parts. Its nest consists of a mass of sticks and is usually supported by the branches of some large tree. Islets on which there are but a few trees are in particular favor with this species. The eggs are usually spheroidal and white with a few faint markings of reddish brown.
“Common along the seashore. Frequently seen perching on the fish pens of the natives, where it secures abundant food.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)