THE WHITE-BELLIED SEA-EA&LE 
Huliceetus Uucogaster {Gm.) 
Malay name : — Burong lang; lang laitt. 
Description ."Adnlt sea-eagles are rather different in 
appearance from young birds. Old birds have the head, neck, 
most of the tinderparts and the last one-third of the tail pure 
white. The back and wings are dark grey, the latter with 
black quills. The sexes are alike in plumage » but in si^e the 
female is a trifle larger than the male. Yonng birds are 
entirely brown although by no means uniform in colour, the 
back being much darker than the underparts which are some- 
times very pale. Tht breast is rather darker than the rest of 
the underparts. The i rides are brown, the bill grey and the 
feet very pale flesh colour or "^whitish" as ornithologists say. 
The total length is about 2 feet 4 inches to 2 feet 6 inches 
and the wing is about 22 inches. 
Distribution: —This is a coastal bird with a very wide 
range. It is found in Ceylon, India, Burma, the Malay Penin- 
sula and throughout the islands to Australia. 
Status in Singapore : — This eagle is very common not only 
in Singapore but also on all the small neighbouring islets and 
on account of its size and conspicuous habits must be one of 
the best known of local birds. There arc several old nests at 
various points on the island, some of them, like that on the way 
to the *'Gap", being quite familiar land-marks. 
Field N oies : —This very large bird is usually seen patrol- 
ling the harbour, sitting on the fishing stakes or slowly flapping 
its way over the town in the early evening. Looked at from 
below perhaps its most striking feature is the wedge-shaped 
tail. In the harbour it is much less active than the squealing 
kites and of course very much larger. The coast near 
■*f-abrador" is one of its favourite haunts. In the evening or 
when they have been feeding heavily the sea-eagles pass over 
the island, a very noticeable flight line being* over the Sepoy 
Lines Golf course, and rest for preference in isolated chimps 
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