Grey-headed Fish Eagle
Posted by BESG on 28 May 07, Monday
Contributed by YC, Lee Tiah Khee & Melinda Chan
There are two genera of specialist fish eating eagles - Haliaeetus and Ichthyophaga. They live around aquatic habitats and feed almost exclusively on fish. But this does not mean that they do not take other prey. Sometimes they also feed on birds and small mammals.
The eight species of Haliaeetus are typically coastal and large inland water body species. Ichthyophaga, of which there are two species, both found in Asia, are associated with rivers and streams.
Grey-headed Fish Eagle (Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus) is a rare resident usually confined to the Central Catchment forest (left). The eagle has a small greyish head on a longish neck. The wings and body are dark brownish grey and the lower belly, thigh and under tail coverts are white, the last with terminal or subterminal black band.
The eagle hunts from a vantage perch by the water. Once it spots a fish, it lunges at it, grabbing it with its talons (above). Generally these eagles catch fish near the surface of the water, normally immersing only the feet and legs. Once the fish is caught, it is brought back to the perch to be eaten (below).
Central montage top left and right and bottom left by Lee Tiah Khee; the rest by Chan Yoke Meng.
Categories: Feeding-invertebrates
Comment by Birdie Friends
Made Monday, 28 of May , 2007 at 12:44 am
i almost got hit by a bus trying to snap a pic of this bird along Mandai Lake Road. But I must say it is really beautiful and it was my first time seeing this bird here. A lifer for me this one. Great pics everyone!
Comment by budak
Made Monday, 28 of May , 2007 at 1:05 pm
the prey fish in the third picture looks like a Geophagus sp. cichlid, which is now common in the reservoirs. Maybe all these introduced fishes are doing ‘a little’ good after all, as native fish species tend to be cryptic rather than open water dwellers.
Comment by admin
Made Monday, 28 of May , 2007 at 1:12 pm
Thanks for the note, Birdie Friends; and for the fish ID, Budak.
Comment by Hai~Ren
Made Monday, 28 of May , 2007 at 2:06 pm
Great photos of a rare bird.
I wonder if they interact with white-bellied sea eagles and Brahminy kites, and if any competition exists between the species.
Comment by admin
Made Monday, 28 of May , 2007 at 2:20 pm
Well, birders and photographers - take up the challenge and seek the answers to the questions posed.
Comment by Birdie boy
Made Tuesday, 29 of May , 2007 at 12:20 pm
Well Hai~Ren I believe the grey headed fish eagles are found in the forested areas along streams/river/reservoirs and not so much in the coastal/mangroves areas where you get brahminys and white bellieds.I say this because i have never seen the grey headed fish eagle before for the past 17 years i was living along Pasir Panjang Rd next to Labrador Park/beach. I have seen many brahminy kites and WBS eagles there. Maybe our field ornithologist, Wang Luang Keng can help solve this pondering question? =)
Comment by Serene
Made Wednesday, 30 of May , 2007 at 2:44 pm
White-bellied Sea Eagle is pretty common at MacRitchi, seen it flying around often. & I had seen a Grey-headed Fish Eagle there once too.
Comment by Luan Keng
Made Thursday, 31 of May , 2007 at 8:18 am
Grey-headed Fish Eagle prefers forests to coastal areas although it has been reported at Sungei Buloh, Poyan and Khatib Bongsu. There could be competition with the similar-sized White-bellied Fish Eagle, which can also be found in our forests fringing the central reservoirs. Sutari reported a pair of GHFE flying in the company of a pair of WBFE in 1994. As far as I know, no studies have been made on whether these two species compete with each other for resources. I have never observed it myself. Lim Kim Seng hypothesised that competition with WBFE is a threat to GHFE but no one has reported any aggression between the two species.
