White-tailed eagle in Polissia
Haliaeetus albicilla
Red Data Book of Ukraine: rare
The white-tailed eagle is a huge brown bird with broad wings that look like “barn doors” in flight, a massive yellow bill and, in adults, a short white wedge-shaped tail. Young birds are darker and their tail is not yet white.
The eagle nests in old trees near large bodies of water. In Polissia it is seen on the Prypiat, the Desna, the Kyiv Reservoir, in Shatsk National Park and in the Chornobyl zone, where it has become commoner than in populated areas.
It feeds on fish and waterfowl, and in winter often on carrion. The nest is a huge structure of branches that a pair uses and adds to for many years. In winter several eagles may sit together on the ice by an ice hole.
The white-tailed eagle is listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. Near nests, felling trees and making noise are not allowed. It is best to watch the birds from the shore with binoculars.
When to see: all year; in winter near ice-free stretches of rivers and reservoirs
Where it was seen in Polissia
Observations from the open scientific database GBIF since 1990. Locations are shown approximately, to within 10 km.
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