The diet of the White-tailed
Eagle is varied and includes fish, birds, carrion and small
mammals. Many birds exists, especially during the Winter months,
as scavengers, feeding on dead deer, sheep and other carrion, as
well as regularly pirating food from otters and other birds,
including Buzzards. Studies of food remains collected from nests,
after young have fledged, reveal that over forty different species
of bird, mammal and fish regularly contribute to the diet of
White-tailed Eagles in the breeding season. Mull's eagles show a
preference for hares and strandline birds. For more details of
this excellent RSPB study please
click here.
White-tailed
Eagles are nonetheless powerful and effective hunters. They snatch
fish from the surface of both freshwater and sea lochs on Mull by
employing a shallow, feet-first dive. They have small spikes
called spicules on the underside of their feet which helps prevent
slippery prey from escaping. Somewhat incongruously, White-tailed
Eagles have been known to wade in to shallow water to fish like a
Grey Heron.
The White-tailed Eagle is a less active hunter than the Golden
Eagle and may be seen perched in a tree or on a rock for hours on
end. This has fuelled belief that it is a lazy predator. The daily
food requirement of a White-tailed Eagle is in the region of 500 –
700g(two large fish) and equates to about 1/10th of their body
weight. White-tailed Eagles have a longer gut and a more efficient
digestive system than Golden Eagles, which allows them to go for
longer periods without food.
A variety of sea birds and waterfowl are eaten, with Eiders and
Shags being particular favourites. The hunting eagle will force
the swimming birds to repeatedly dive until they are exhausted,
thus making them easier to catch. White-tailed Eagles on the Isle
of Mull have been known to attack and kill fully-grown birds the
size of Greylag Geese and Grey Heron.
The large population of Red Deer on the Isle of Mull usually
provides offal throughout the Winter and, in season, White-tailed
Eagles may take small deer calves, goat kids and lambs.
Pellets
White-tailed
Eagles have a swelling in their oesophagus called a crop which
allows them to store excess food without discomfort. The diet of
White-tailed Eagles can be varied and includes fish, birds
(normally ducks and gulls) and mammals, including deer calves and
hares. The indigestible parts of their meals (bones, feathers, fur
and hair) is formed into a pellet in the muscular part of the
bird's stomach called the gizzard and regurgitated through it's
mouth.
White-tailed Eagle pellets may be cast anywhere that the
bird may be resting or roosting, near the nest or in the vicinity
of a favourite place that an individual bird may use to eat the
prey it has caught. The pellets of a White-tailed Eagle can be
large (4 - 5") and predominantly consist of feathers and fur.
The diet of the White-tailed
Eagle is varied and includes fish, birds, carrion and small
mammals. Many birds exists, especially during the Winter months,
as scavengers, feeding on dead deer, sheep and other carrion, as
well as regularly pirating food from otters and other birds,
including Buzzards. Studies of food remains collected from nests,
after young have fledged, reveal that over forty different species
of bird, mammal and fish regularly contribute to the diet of
White-tailed Eagles in the breeding season. Mull's eagles show a
preference for hares and strandline birds. For more details of
this excellent RSPB study please
White-tailed
Eagles have a swelling in their oesophagus called a crop which
allows them to store excess food without discomfort. The diet of
White-tailed Eagles can be varied and includes fish, birds
(normally ducks and gulls) and mammals, including deer calves and
hares. The indigestible parts of their meals (bones, feathers, fur
and hair) is formed into a pellet in the muscular part of the
bird's stomach called the gizzard and regurgitated through it's
mouth.