Madagascar Fish Eagle

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Madagascar Fish-eagle

Conservation status

Critically endangered

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Falconiformes
Family:	Accipitridae
Genus:	Haliaeetus
Species:	H. vociferoides

Binomial name

Haliaeetus vociferoides
Des Murs, 1845

The Madagascar Fish-eagle (Haliaeetus vociferoides^[1]) or - to distinguish it from the Ichthyophaga true fish eagles, Madagascar Sea-eagle - is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The range of this eagle is within the Madagascar dry deciduous forests.

As the species name alludes, its closest relative is almost certainly the African Fish-eagle, Haliaeetus vocifer. Together, they form a distinct lineage of sea-eagles, which separated soon after the genus' divergence; they retain the ancestral dark beak, talon, and eye colors, but as opposed to other Haliaeetus species, their tails are always at least partially white even in juveniles. Like in other sea-eagle species pairs, one species (the Madagascar Fish-eagle in this case) has a tan head, while the other has a white one.

This species is endemic to Madagascar, where it survives in low numbers along the west coast. Surveys between 1991 and 1995 recorded at least 222 adults from 105 sites, with an estimated 99 breeding pairs. The main threats to its breeding habitat are deforestation, soil erosion and the development of wetland areas for rice-paddies. It is also in direct competition with humans for fish stocks.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Haliaeetus vociferoides. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 06 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map, a brief justification of why this species is critically endangered, and the criteria used

[edit] References

^ Etymology: Haliaeetus, New Latin for "sea-eagle". vociferoides, from Latin vocifer, the specific name of the African Fish-eagle + -oides, "likeness of". This is in allusion to the conspicuous yelping calls which, when sitting, are given with the head fully thrown to the back, a peculiarity found among sea-eagles only in this and the African species.