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Description: The African Fish Eagle has a distinctive
white head. The white extends deep onto the chest and back. The
tail is white, body and shoulders are chestnut, wings are dark
with chestnut reddish wing coverts. The tail is relatively short
and is hidden by the primaries when at rest. The cere is bright
yellow, eye is dark and beak is dark grey. The immature is mostly
brown with a white head streaked heavily with brown. Its beak
is dark and cere is pale. It takes 4 years to reach adult plumage.
Similar species: There are seven other species in the
genus Haliaeetus, five of which are similar to the African Fish
Eagle. They are distinguished geographically. The White-bellied
Sea Eagle (H. leucogaster) lives on the coast of India,
southeast Asia and Australia; Sanford's Sea Eagle (H. sanfordi)
lives in the Solomon Islands; the Madagascar Fish Eagle (H.
vociferoides) lives in Madagascar; the White-tailed Sea Eagle
(H. albicilla, sometimes called the Steller's Sea Eagle)
is Eurasian; and the American Bald Eagle (H. leucocephalus)
is found in North America.
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