Steller's sea eagle
Amazing fact
Steller’s sea eagle grasps fish with long, sharp talons, carrying them or holding them down to eat.
上野動物園
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Steller’s sea eagle grasps fish with long, sharp talons, carrying them or holding them down to eat.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Steller's sea eagle
- Scientific name
- Haliaeetus pelagicus
- Japanese name
- オオワシ
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Haliaeetus
It raises its young on the northern coasts of the Sea of Okhotsk and flies to northern Japan and the Korean Peninsula for the winter.
Its body is dark brown to black, with white shoulders, white thighs and a white wedge-shaped tail. Its yellow bill is very large.
It mainly eats fish such as salmon and trout, but it sometimes attacks birds like ducks, or young seals.
How the Steller's sea eagle lives
It is active during the day. It hunts from a perch or while flying. It is often seen perching on sea cliffs or in large trees.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Total length: males 88 cm, females 102 cm
- Diet
- Large fish such as salmon and trout, weakened fish, birds, and other foods
- Range
- The Russian Far East and Japan
- Conservation status in Japan
- Vulnerable (VU)Ministry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)
Where the Steller's sea eagle has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- オオワシ
- 简体中文
- 虎头海雕
- 繁體中文
- 虎頭海雕
- 한국어
- 참수리
- Español
- Pigargo gigante
- Français
- Pygargue empereur
- Deutsch
- Riesenseeadler
- Português (Brasil)
- Águia-marinha-gigante
- Italiano
- Aquila di mare di Steller
- العربية
- عقاب ستيلر البحري
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Elang-laut Steller
- Tiếng Việt
- Đại bàng biển Steller
- Русский
- Белоплечий орлан
- Türkçe
- Steller deniz kartalı
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 上野動物園 — オオワシChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Haliaeetus pelagicusChecked: 2026-11-03
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Steller's sea eagle, look for this
- Look at its bright yellow feet.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
上野動物園EXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Steller's sea eagle
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
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