Jim wrote -

>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.

You were right, Jim. White-bellied Sea Eagles they were. The program was
called "The Eagle and the Serpent", I believe. It had to do with the
mass migration of sea snakes to an island in the S. China Sea, and how
the eagles adjust their nesting schedule such that the hatching of
the young eagles coincides with the arrival of the snakes. Those were
snakes the eagles were filmed plucking from the water, not fish. The
film sequence of the talon-plunge you mentioned was a territorial
battle, but this does not prevent its use in another context, say by a
mated pair. Different meanings for different contexts. I would recommend
this program as a great example of the genre. The most stunning thing
that got me about this one was that the great, beautiful White-bellied
Sea Eagle has a voice similar to a White-breasted Nuthatch! (a male
of which just showed up at my feeder this morning in P.G.). What is it
about the syrinx of _Haliaeetus_ eagles anyway?

- Jack




Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
CANADA
jcbowling at mindlink.bc.ca