Pallas’s fish eagle: Spotting a nest
In Kaziranga, last year, we spotted a nest. Was it empty?
Empty nest?
No, two white heads bobbed up.
Hey! There is a couple inside!
Eagles! Which one? This is Pallas’s fish eagle, a species classified as ‘vulnerable’ in the IUCN Threatened list.
Pallas’s fish eagle
This large fishing eagle is mainly dark brown, with a light brown to white head and neck and a slightly darker area between the shoulders.
These fish eagles feed mostly on fresh water fish, but can sometimes dare to assault geese, which is quite some feat, because then they carry off prey almost twice their weight.
What a painstakingly built nest at the water’s edge!
Yawn! Wake up! Time to go fishing!
We contribute to the decline of this species through degradation of their habitat, pollution or overfishing. Another reason is the spread of water hyacinth in lakes which obscures their prey.
Pallas’s fish eagle
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