Palla’s Fish Eagle    Haliaeetus leucoryphus

Etymology:

• Haliaeetus : Latin word hali– sea;  aetos eagle   { Sea eagle}

• Leucoryphus : Greek Word eukos white; koruphos –crowned  { White Crowned}

Vernacular name:   Sind: Kural baaz, Hindi: Machharang, Machhmanga, Dhenk, Patras, Sans: Patti puch matsya suparna, Kash: Gaad, Grad, Kootair, Ugus, Pun: Kurl ukab, Machhera ukab, Bi: Sorail, Ben: Koral, Machhal, Nepal: Kankam, M.P: Kokna, Guj: Pallas-no machhimaar, Matsya garud, Mar: Pallas cha Matsyagarud

Distribution in India: Resident from North India up to East and North East India.

Description:  Size of 72–84 cm; weight of male 2000–3300 g, weight of female 2100–3700 g; wingspan of 180–215 cm. The female is somewhat larger than male and heavier. It has mainly brown plumage, with golden sandy buff head and neck; dark brown rounded tail with conspicuous broad white band. The irides are dark brown to dark grey, cere is pale blue-grey occasionally yellowish, bill is dark greyish blue with darker tip. The legs are whitish to dirty yellow. The juvenile is more uniformly brown, including all of tail, but has pale band on underwing-coverts and pale panel on inner primaries. It often has with rufescent nape and large dark ear-coverts patch; bleach very pale by first summer with contrastingly darker head. The cere and bill are grey, legs are off-white. Adult plumage is acquired over 4–5 years, although ragged white tailband may appear as early as at one year old. Second- to third-year are still similar to juvenile, but have more uniformly pale underparts and almost all-dark flight feathers.

Habitat: It is found in rivers and lakes, freshwater wetlands and pools; often in arid areas or steppe. In winter, may visit inland seas . It is found up to 5200 m in Himalayas.

Food Habits: It eats Mainly fish , also waterbirds, rodents, lagomorphs, frogs, reptiles, insects, offal and carrion; even dead human bodies on occasions. The fish are caught near surface, without plunge, often in shallows or when stranded in drying pools; alternatively taken as carrion; also steals from Ospreys, Great Cormorants and other birds, also pirate fish from an otter.

Breeding Habits: They breed in Sept–Feb in N India. Both adults build enormous nest of sticks and branches, lined with fresh leaves including those of water hyacinth, rushes and other soft materials; normally in large tree but, if necessary, can be built in reedbeds or on ground . The same nest reused repeatedly. They may relay eggs if first clutch is lost early in season. They lay a clutch of 2–3 white eggs. The incubation period is 40 days, done mainly by female, provisioned by male. The hatching of eggs happens in 2–3 days apart. The chicks are fed by both adults, mainly by male. The fledgling period is 70–105 days, with young only becoming independent 30 days later.