Haliaeetus pelagicus
- noun
- Specialized
- The Haliaeetus pelagicus is one of the largest eagles in the world, noted for its massive yellow beak.
Examples
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Conservation efforts are underway to protect the habitat of Haliaeetus pelagicus along the Pacific coast.
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Birdwatchers traveled to eastern Russia to catch a glimpse of the rare Haliaeetus pelagicus.
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Look at that majestic Haliaeetus pelagicus!
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The Haliaeetus pelagicus is often seen soaring above the ocean.
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Birdwatchers traveled to eastern Russia to catch a glimpse of the rare Haliaeetus pelagicus.
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Conservation efforts are underway to protect the habitat of Haliaeetus pelagicus along the Pacific coast.
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The Haliaeetus pelagicus is one of the largest eagles in the world, noted for its massive yellow beak.
Synonyms
A very large sea eagle that lives on the coasts of northeastern Asia
A large sea eagle that lives on coasts near the Kamchatka Peninsula
Surface Forms
Morphology
Haliaeetus + pelagicus
This is a Latin binomial (genus + specific epithet) whose parts are taxonomic/Latin roots rather than ordinary English words; if a learner knew that Haliaeetus refers to an eagle genus and recognized pelagicus/pelagic as ‘of the sea’, they could infer ‘a sea eagle’. However, these are specialized/formal scientific terms (and the second element is not a common dictionary headword), so the meaning is only partly predictable to a B1 learner and relies on extra biological knowledge.
Etymology
Haliaeetus pelagicus comes from old Greek words and gives a clear picture: Haliaeetus means 'sea eagle' and pelagicus means 'of the open sea'. That's why the name fits this large coastal eagle that lives and hunts by the sea.