A David Mead original from Raptors of the World, published by Christopher Helm as a Handbook (2001) and a Field Guide (2005).

PLATE 18 in Handbook (Field Guide plate 21)

Pallas’s Fish-eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus
C and S Asia

Lesser Fishing-eagle Ichthyophaga humilis
Himalayas, SE Asia

Grey-headed Fishing-eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus
India, Sri Lanka, SE Asia

ABOUT THE BIRDS An almost exclusively freshwater species, Pallas’s Fish-eagle has suffered from wetland drainage and other forms of habitat degradation. Although it kills fish, birds and mammals, it is also a scavenger and often becomes tame around villages.

Both Lesser and Grey-headed Fishing-eagles feed almost entirely on fish. The former species finds most of its prey in fast-flowing streams and rivers, while the latter prefers slow rivers, lakes and marshes.

Medium Gouache on tinted acrylic gesso
Image size 8in x 12in (20cm x 30cm)