Hokkaido, Japan’s Endemic Raptor - The White-tailed Eagle

The White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is also known as the White-tailed sea eagle, Gray eagle, and Eurasian sea eagle is one raptor of many I photograph on my annual Hokkaido birding photo tour workshop.  The White-Tailed can be photographed all year round in Hokkaido, Japan as they are endemic to the region. They are the only species known to be more massive in dimension than the Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), the Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja), and the Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi). These eagles measure from 65-95cm in length with a wingspan of 170 cm to 260 cm (5 ft 5 to 8 ft 5 inches). It is said this raptor has the largest wingspan of any living eagle. The male and female are similar in coloring and appearance, and I usually tell them apart by their size in which females are generally about 30% heavier and about 15% greater in linear dimensions.  Their bill is massive and can be vibrant orange to dull in color, and it is razor-sharp to rip apart their prey in a hurry, and they can be an aggressive bird, who stand their ground against other raptors such as the Steller’s sea eagle, (Haliaeetus pelagicus), who migrate to Hokkaido for the winter. The adult white-tailed eagle is grayish mid-brown colored overall. The plumage is relatively uniform over most of the body and the wings, but the wing coverts are generally paler; the rest of their plumage is usually softer looking from the head, neck, and upper breast is often a desert dawn hue. But colors of the white-tailed eagle can easily range from bright, vibrant, beautiful colors to washed out and spotted.