Washington Sea Eagle (c1833). Etching, watercolor. 100 x 65. A sea eagle is any of the birds of prey in the genus Haliaeetus in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. Sea eagles vary in size, from Sanford's sea eagle, averaging 2.0-2.7 kg, to the huge Steller's sea eagle, weighing up to 9 kg. At up to 6.9 kg, the white-tailed eagle is the largest eagle in Europe. Bald eagles can weigh up to 7.5 kg, making them the largest eagle native to North America. The white-bellied sea eagle can weigh up to 3.4 kg. Their diets consist mainly of fish and small mammals. The genus Haliaeetus was introduced in 1809 by the French naturalist Marie Jules César Savigny in his chapter on birds in the Description de l'Égypte. The two fish eagles in the genus Ichthyophaga found to lie within the genus in a genetic study in 2005, and then placed therein. They are very similar to the tropical Haliaeetus species. A prehistoric form from Maui in the Hawaiian Islands may represent a species or subspecies in this genus. The 10 living species are: Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution Haliaeetus leucogaster White-bellied sea eagle India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to Australia Haliaeetus sanfordi Sanford's sea eagle Solomon Islands Haliaeetus vocifer African fish eagle sub-Saharan Africa Haliaeetus vociferoides Madagascan fish eagle Madagascar Haliaeetus leucoryphus Pallas's fish eagle Central Asia, between the Caspian Sea and the Yellow Sea, from Kazakhstan and Mongolia to the Himalayas, Bangladesh and northern India. Haliaeetus albicilla White-tailed eagle Eurasia Haliaeetus leucocephalus Bald eagle Canada, all of the continental United States, and northern Mexico Haliaeetus pelagicus Steller's sea eagle coastal northeastern Asia Haliaeetus humilis Lesser fish eagle Kashmir through southeast India, Nepal, and Burma towards Indochina Haliaeetus ichthyaetus Grey-headed fish eagle South East Asia The tail is entirely white in adult Haliaeetus species except for Sanford's, White-bellied, and Pallas's. Three species pairs exist: white-tailed and bald eagles, Sanford's and white-bellied sea eagles, and the African and Madagascan fish eagles, each of these consists of a white-and a tan-headed species. Haliaeetus is possibly one of the oldest genera of living birds.