The occurrence of Pallas^s Fish Eagle 
Haliaeetus leucoryphus in Arabia 
Peter Symens, Abdullah Suhaibani & Xavier Eichacker 
The Pallas's Fish Eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus is a scarce but widespread 
breeding bird in the central and southern parts of the former USSR from 
the north eastern Caspian Sea in the west to the Aral Sea in the north and 
Manchuria and Mongolia in the east. Its breeding range extends 
southwards to Pakistan, northern India and Burma. Little is known 
about its movements but at least part of the northern population migrates 
southwards in the winter to reach Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and the Liidian 
subcontinent (e.g. Dementiev &Gladkov 1951; Cramp & Simmons 1980; 
Ali & Ripley 1983). Habitat destruction, water pollution and persecution 
have caused a drastic decline in numbers during the last decades, 
especially in the northern and western part of its range and, at present, 
the species is considered to be globally endangered (Collar & Andrew 
1988). 
Hitherto the Pallas's Fish Eagle has been considered to be a vagrant in 
Arabia, restricted to the eastern edge of the peninsula and southern 
Oman (Jennings 1981a, 1981b; Hollomef a/. 1988; Bundy fl/. 1989; Oman 
Bird Records Committee 1989; Richardson 1990). Prior to 1987, there had 
been four records of eight birds: 
Saudi Arabia: 
■ two birds near Qatif, Eastern Province, on 2 November 1979 (Jennings 1981a; 
Bundyeffl/. 1989); 
■ three birds in Tarut Bay, Eastern Province, between 26 January and 6 February 
1986 (lUCN 1987). 
United Arab Emirates: 
■ one at Ras al Khaimah, Dubai, on 29 October 1972 (Richardson 1990). 
Oman: 
■ an immature bird was present in southern Oman from 12 October 1984 to 8 
March 1985, with a second bird present on 11 January 1985; presumably it was 
one of these two birds that was seen again on 22 March 1985 (Gallagher 1986). 
Since 1986 no more Pallas's Fish Eagles have been observed in eastern 
Arabia or Oman, possibly due to the serious decline in numbers of the 
wintering population along the eastern Gulf coast of Iran and in Iraq, 
where the species used to occur as a rare but regular winter visitor (e.g. 
Allouse 1953; Cramp & Simmons 1980; Gallagher & Woodcock 1980). 
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