There was a Nature program on PBS a couple of weeks ago centered around a
fish eagle which I remember being the White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus
leucogaster) but I'm not sure if thats the specific species but it was
definately Haeliaeetus sp. The point being that they had some spectacular
footage of a territory battle between two birds in which they did indeed lock
talons and tumble down a considerable distance. They didn't just tumble they
swung each other towards the earth. I think they even fell into some foliage.
I was amazed. They had great footage of these birds snagging fish out of the
ocean. They don't do the Osprey dive into the water, they just fly over it
and reach in and grab the fish. Great program.

Serge wrote about a pair of Harriers:
The prey the male had in its talons was a small passerine. When the male
opened its talon, the passerine flew away!!!

I'm trying to imagine what the female Harrier's reaction was to the male
Harrier's offering of food. Thats a great story.


Jim Rosso
Issaquah
206-392-8440