WHITE-BELLIED SEA-EAGLE. 
“ This bird was brought to England in one of the last circumnavigating 
ships, and is now in the Leverian Museum. Its native place unknown.” 
Upon this account is entirely based Falco leucogaster Gmelin, 8yst. Nat, 
p. 257, 1788. 
In the Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 248, 1912, I designated as the type- 
locality New South Wales, and here detail the reasons for this action. 
The “ circumnavigating ships ” referred to mean those under Captain 
Cook, and the most probable place where these would meet with this bird, 
whose range is from India through the Malay States to Australia, is New 
South Wales. This conclusion is confirmed by the reference by Latham 
under Sea E(agle), p. 31, thus : “ was also met with in Botany Island by 
Captain Cooke.^^ The bird here signified must have been a specimen of 
this species, and I find that my opinion agrees with that expressed by 
Sharpe {Hist. Coll. Nat. Hist. B.M., Vol. II., p. 90, 1906), who, dealing 
with the birds mentioned by Latham as being in the British Museum, wrote 
as follows : 
“ Sea-Eagle, p. 30 {=Haliaetus albicilla [L.]). ‘ Tliis species was also met 
with in Botany Island by Captain Cook.’ The bird observed by the latter 
must have been an immature Haliaetus leucogaster. 
The Botany Island here referred to would appear to be Botany Bay, and 
it is quite possible that the specimen in the Leverian Museum was the 
identical one noted by Captain Cook. Under these circumstances I was 
Justified in making this selection for a t 3 ?pe-locality, as otherwise there was 
absolutely no data to get hold of. 
Wlien a figure was seen in the Watling Drawings Latham did not 
recognise it. 
Captain S. A. White writes : “I have met with these fine birds along 
the coast of Queensland and New South Wales. A few pairs were to be found 
some years ago on the South Australian Coast : one pair had possession of a 
part of the North Coast of Kangaroo Island for many years ; they seem to 
take possession of a certain beat and nest year after year in the same place. 
Just renovating the old structure which is placed on some projecting rock on 
the coast or in some instances in a tree that is growing close to the cliffs. 
These fine birds were observed on the Capricorn Group : each island, be it 
large or small, had its pair of birds. On some islands they were nesting in 
the largest Pisonia tree ; in one instance the nest was over 50 feet from the 
ground. On other islands the nest was a large stick structure, placed on 
quite low vegetation. The young for the first year resemble the Wedge- 
tailed Eagle {Uroaetus audax) most strikingly in colour. The favourite food 
of these birds on the Queensland coast seems to be sea-snakes. Although 
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