Белоголовый орлан vs Серая цапля

Haliaeetus leucocephalus compared with Ardea cinerea

Key Differences

• Белоголовый орлан is Not Evaluated while Серая цапля is Least Concern.
• Белоголовый орлан is 3.3x heavier than Серая цапля.
• Белоголовый орлан lives longer (28 years vs 15 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Белоголовый орлан	Серая цапля
Kingdom same	Animalia (животные)	Animalia (животные)
Phylum same	Chordata (хордовые)	Chordata (хордовые)
Class same	Aves (птицы)	Aves (птицы)
Order	Accipitriformes (ястребообразные)	Pelecaniformes (пеликанообразные)
Family	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Ardeidae
Genus	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)	Ardea
Species	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Ardea cinerea

Evolutionary Relationship

Белоголовый орлан and Серая цапля share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (птицы)

Conservation Status

Белоголовый орлан

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Серая цапля

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Белоголовый орлан	Серая цапля
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	28 years	15 years
Average Length	90 cm	95 cm
Average Weight	5.0 kg	1.5 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Белоголовый орлан

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 10 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (8 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Ecuador).

Серая цапля

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

Белоголовый орлан

The national bird of the United States and a symbol of American conservation success, bald eagles have a wingspan of up to 2.4 meters and inhabit forests and wetlands near open water across North America. Powerful aerial predators and scavengers, they specialize in fish but also take waterfowl and carrion. Nearly extinct by the 1960s due to DDT poisoning and hunting, the bald eagle recovered dramatically following pesticide bans and the Endangered Species Act.

Серая цапля

A large, elegant wading bird reaching up to 1 meter in height, gray herons inhabit wetlands, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Patient, solitary hunters, they stand motionless for long periods before striking fish, frogs, and small mammals with lightning-fast dagger bill strikes. They nest colonially in tall trees in rookeries called heronries, sometimes shared with other colonial waterbirds. Widely distributed and of Least Concern globally.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden