61 to 75 cm long with a 155 to 170 cm wingspan: a bulky eagle with a small bill, small head on a long neck, rounded tail, short bare-shanked legs and long talons. Adults have a pale grey head and pale iris, brown breast and neck, dark brown upperparts, and white belly and tail with a broad black band near the tip. Females are heavier. Juveniles are paler with dark streaks.
Habitat
Lowland forest up to 1,500 m, nesting near slow rivers, lakes, lagoons, reservoirs, marshes and estuaries; in Sri Lanka often at irrigation tanks.
Distribution
India and Southeast Asia to Malaysia, western Indonesia and the Philippines; uncommon in most places and rare in some.
Season and behaviour
Resident, alone or in pairs, perching upright for long periods on bare branches over water and dropping down for fish now and then. Breeds from November to May in most of its range.
Photography tips
These are the FilmAnalysis editors' notes, not content from the sources.
It stays on the same dead branch over water for a long time: pick your spot, stop approaching and wait with 500 to 800 mm for take-off or a strike. It often crouches before launching, the moment to go to 1/2000 s and burst. The white tail and pale head blow out in strong sun, so underexpose by 0.3 EV. Keep away from nest trees in the breeding season and never publish nest locations.
Field ethics: keep a distance at which the bird does not change its behaviour; never approach or publish nest sites; no baiting, playback or flash; never clear vegetation around a nest; follow reserve rules and stay on paths.
Photographic styles
Moments of action; clean frames over open water.
Similar species
Lesser fish eagle (Icthyophaga humilis, similar plumage but much smaller); Pallas's fish eagle (same habitat and habits, but larger, longer-winged and darker below).
Related badge
None yet. No validated photo recognition exists for this species, so no badge is tied to it: a name in the encyclopedia is not evidence in a photograph.
Analyse a photoWhen a bird or flower in the picture is recognised reliably, the result's "Related encyclopedia" links to its page; when it is not, the link goes to the listing only.
The illustration is original FilmAnalysis artwork. The photograph is from iNaturalist; its licence and author are under it.
Names follow the IOC World Bird List 15.2; the facts follow the sources below.
Sources
IOC World Bird List: Multilingual IOC World Bird List, version 15.2
