The Steller's sea eagle is a very big bird. Its wings can stretch up to 8 feet, tip to tip.

It has a dark body. It has white on its shoulders and tail. It has a very large yellow bill. It has a deep, barking cry.

Female Steller's sea eagles are larger than the males. A female can weigh up to about 20 pounds (9 kilograms). A male weighs less.

These eagles live near sea coasts and big rivers. They eat mostly salmon, a kind of fish.

Sometimes one stands in shallow water or on ice. It grabs fish that swim by.

The eagles build huge nests of branches. The nests are in big trees or on rocky cliffs.

A female lays one to three eggs in spring. A pair usually raises just one chick.

A chick is covered in soft gray-white down. The down slowly changes to brown feathers. It learns to fly at about 10 weeks.

Steller's sea eagles nest in eastern Russia. They nest around the Sea of Okhotsk and on the Kamchatka Peninsula. In winter, many fly south to Japan.

Words to know

• salmon: a fish
• shallow: not deep
• cliffs: steep rock
• chick: baby bird
• peninsula: land by water