Whether human, animal or bird, eyesight matters equally to all. Its importance for getting about hardly needs repeating. But not everyone sees alike: some see well easily, some see more, some less.

Many creatures on earth have eyesight many times better than ours, and the first example that comes to mind is the sea eagle, sometimes called the hawk of the sea.

Its full name is Steller's sea eagle. It is found at Kurilskoye Lake in Kamchatka, Russia. It spends almost the whole winter at its nest, waiting for fish to surface in the lake. Its enormous size only becomes clear when it spreads its wings in the sky.

An adult sea eagle's outstretched wings measure about nine feet from tip to tip. It weighs about 20 pounds, far more than North America's bald eagle (the text says "bald vulture"). In winter these eagles fly as far as Japan and South Korea, but they nest only on islands in eastern Russia such as "Balkan Shyantant", as the text names it.

They are named after Georg Steller, a German naturalist, who saw them in 1740 while researching in Kamchatka, at Kurilskoye Lake, famous for its salmon.

Remarkably, the Steller's sea eagle sees three to four times more sharply than a human. It is known everywhere as a bird of prey and can spot prey from several miles away.

It searches for prey from 8,000-10,000 feet up. Once it finds a target, it dives at 100 miles an hour, and even at that speed it keeps its eye on the prey.

But Steller's sea eagles cannot eat without a fight. None of them gets to eat alone; no one gets food without a battle. They start the day by watching the movements of magpie robins and crows. These small, sharp-eyed birds seem to like showing the way, and in return they get scraps. Once the eagle's huge beak tears through the tough salmon skin, the small birds peck their way in and are content with a few bites.

As soon as one eagle makes a catch, the others arrive in an instant and a frenzy begins. The first hunter tries to shield the prey with its wings while it is tugged at from left and right. There are rewards, and then the robber tries to guard the food it has won.

Curious researchers ask why the eagles struggle like this when there is enough food. Zoologist Alexander Lezhigin believes salmon skin is so tough that stealing is easier than tearing. Some think the eagles simply like to eat this way.

The shy, easily startled Steller's sea eagle is found in a few remote, sparsely populated parts of the world. It lives on "Morisaij" island in the Sea of Okhotsk, 700 miles west of Kamchatka, according to the text. Every spring these eagles return to the same nest with the same mate.

They build on a chosen branch of a tall tree, placed so they can watch both home and the fishing inlet from afar. From twigs, dry grass and small plants they build a platform about 10 feet wide, wider than a king-size bed.

In the quiet, the chicks can sometimes be heard clamouring for food, and the parents warning off two eagles flying too close to the nest. Before the salmon arrive, the adults catch small fish at night to bring home for the chicks.

Researchers have noticed that only the mother eagle feeds the young. Chicks take 90 days to learn to fly, and it takes about six to eight years for the snow-white neck, tail, legs and forehead to fully develop.

The life, traits and behaviour of the Steller's sea eagle surely inspire people towards a tolerant, united life.

The writer is a science writer and researcher.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.