Bald Eagle

Fast Facts

Common Name: bald eagle

Class: Aves

Order: Falconiformes

Family: Accipitridae

Genus species: Haliaeetus (sea eagle) leucocephalus (white head)

Size: 1 m (3 ft.) in height; 2.3 m (7 ft.) wing span

Weight: males 3.5 to 4 kg (8-9 lb.), females 4.5 to 6 kg (10-14 lb.)

Description: Adults at 4 to 5 yrs. are identified by their white head and tail, solid brown body, and large, curved, yellow bill. Juveniles have blotchy patches of white on their underside and tail.

Life span: up to 30 years in the wild, longer in captivity

Incubation: 31 to 45 days

Habitat: live and nest near coastlines, rivers, lakes, wet prairies, and coastal pine lands in North America from Alaska and Canada south into Florida and Baja, California.

Diet: prefer fish swimming close to the water's surface, small mammals, waterfowl, wading birds, dead animal matter (carrion).

Status: listed by USFWS as threatened in all but three of the lower 48 states and protected by CITES; populations are healthy in Alaska

Fun Facts

1. The bald eagle is not really bald; it actually has white feathers on its head, neck, and tail. Bald is a derivation of balde, an Old English word meaning white. The eagle was named for its white feathers instead for a lack of feathers.

2. Bald eagles may use the same nest year after year, adding more twigs and branches each time. One nest was found that had been used for 34 years and weighed over two tons!

3. The bald eagle can fly 20 to 40 mph in normal flight and can dive at speeds over 100 mph.

4. Bald eagles can actually swim! They use an overhand movement of the wings that is very much like the butterfly stroke.

5. More than 80% of the bald eagle population in the southeastern United States is concentrated within the state of Florida.

Ecology and Conservation

Bald eagles are a very important part of the environment. By eating dead animal matter, they help with nature's clean-up process. Bald eagles are also hunters, so they keep animal populations strong. They do this by killing weak, old, and slower animls, leaving only the healthiest to survive.

The bald eagle is our national symbol, so when it became threatened with extinction in the 1960s due to pesticide use, habitat loss, and other problems created by humans, people took notice. For years the bald eagle was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Now the number of bald eagles has increased so much that in June, 1994 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that they be downgraded from endangered status to the less urgent status of threatened in all but three of the lower 48 states. The success of the bald eagle is a tribute to the Endangered Species Act and is an incentive for increased awareness and conservation everywhere.

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