Erne (Haliaetus), one of the 'bare-legged' eagles. The genus includes some seven species, represented apparently in all parts of the world except South America. The Common Erne or White-tailed Sea-eagle (H. albicilla) is widely distributed in northern Europe and Asia. It occurs in Britain more commonly than the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetus), but, like the latter, with rapidly increasing rarity. The two cannot be readily confused, for the leg-feathers of the Erne do not extend to the toes, the bill is longer, and the habit is different. The Erne is rather smaller than the golden eagle, measuring about 3 feet in length. The general colour is brown, but the head may be paler, and the tail (which only extends very slightly beyond the points of the wings) is white above in the adults. The young erne is a grayer bird. In Britain the erne is now most at home in the remote north—e.g. in the Hebridean and Shetland Islands.
It there builds by the precipices of the coast, but in North Germany it finds a home in wooded inland regions where water is abundant. The same habit has also been noticed in the British Islands—e.g. at Killarney. While continuing the depredations on birds and mammals characteristic of most eagles, the ernes also find in fish a favourite diet.
Another notable species is the White-headed or Bald Eagle (H. leucocephalus), the emblem of the United States. In powers of soaring the emblem may be a happy one, but Franklin regrets that the habits and disposition of the bird are not more praiseworthy. This erne is common in North America, both by the coasts and by inland lakes, and also occurs in northern Europe. The general colour is again brown, but the head and neck of the adults are milky-white, and the same is true of the rounded tail. The size is slightly less than that of the British species. It feeds like other eagles, but is very fond of fish, which it gets for itself by wading, or obtains by theft from other birds. The White-bellied Sea-eagle (H. leucogaster), found round the Australian coasts, and from Ceylon to Cochin China; the beautifully marked H. vocifer of Africa and Madagascar; and the Asiatic Erne (H. pelagicus), are other important species. See EAGLE.