An eagle widespread in northern Eurasia. Some winter in northern Japan, while others breed in Hokkaido.
Adults have a white tail, a pale yellow bill and greyish-brown body plumage.
The distance between a white-tailed eagle’s natal nest and its eventual breeding site is associated with the number of neighbours. Finnish records showed shorter dispersal distances among birds originating from areas with more nearby occupied territories.
A 2024 study linked natal and breeding nests through ring readings and feather DNA. Statistical analyses included 285 eagles. Researchers used age five as the expected time of recruitment and counted active territories within 30 kilometres of the natal nest in that year, relating this count to dispersal distance.
Comparing territory counts within 10 kilometres of both nests revealed another pattern. Eagles from sparse natal areas tended to settle in denser areas, whereas those from dense natal areas tended to settle in less crowded areas. Staying relatively close to home and leaving crowded neighbourhoods can therefore occur together in these movements.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
In Japan, threats include lead poisoning from eating ammunition with shot sika-deer carcasses and accidents involving wind turbines, power infrastructure, vehicles and trains. Logging can remove nesting and roosting woods, while people approaching nests can disturb breeding habitat. The Ministry of the Environment monitors wintering birds, food resources and movements. At the Kushiro-shitsugen Wildlife Center, injured birds receive treatment and rehabilitation for return to the wild, alongside investigation of accident causes and discussions on prevention.