- Pandion haliaetus
Identification
W. up to 72 inches
- Long, slender wings
- Dark brown above
- White with patterning below
- Rather prominant nape crest
- Dark eye-stripe
- Beak is dark
- Eyes yellow
Talons sharp, with scutes for holding slippery prey.
Distribution
North America, Central America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australasia. Except for breeding in Australasia, this species breeds in the northern hemisphere and migrates south in winter.
Taxonomy
Four to six subspecies are recognised. Nominate race breeds in the Palearctic, carolinensis with paler breast-band in North America, ridgwayi in the Caribbean with whiter head and breast; and the smaller cristatus from Indonesia and Australasia. Birds from the Philippines to northern Australia are sometimes separated as melvillensis and those from New Caledonia as microhaliaetus but these races are not universally recognised.
Habitat
Closely tied to water at all seasons.
Behaviour
Among the characteristic behaviors, the one where it hovers over for example a clearwater lake and then splashes in so that the entire bird seems to disappear may be the most spectacular. Quite often, it will come up again carrying a fish, its main food.
Bird Song
<flashmp3>Pandion haliaetus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
External Links
