White-tailed Eagle

White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is a massive Eurasian sea eagle with broad rectangular wings, a heavy yellow bill and, in adults, a short white wedge-shaped tail. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It patrols coasts, lakes and large rivers for fish and waterbirds and also scavenges carrion, building an enormous stick nest in a tree or on a cliff. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).