Bald Eagle Fact Sheet
Species : The bald eagle is a bird of prey, belonging to the species known as H. Leucocephalus.
Naming : Since its name is ‘bald eagle’, you would think that the eagle is bald! As a matter of fact, its head is full of white feathers! The reason behind this discrepancy is that in old English, ‘bald’ meant ‘white’, hence the name bald eagle.
Native To : The bald eagle is native to North America and parts of Mexico, hence, it is also called the American bald eagle. The bald eagles are divided in two sub-categories namely Northern and Southern bald eagles.
Do you know that the bald eagle is the National Bird of America!
American Bald Eagle Information
Bald Eagle Size
The bald eagle is a majestic creature! In fact, it is included in the list of largest raptors of the world.
The female bald eagle leads its male counterpart by 20% in the battle of size. The female is usually 35 to 37 inches where as the smaller male stands up to 30 to 34 inches tall.
Bald Eagle Color
It is covered with distinct blackish-brown feathers all over its body with white tail and neck. The beaks, legs, feet as well as eyes of these raptors are yellow in color.
Bald Eagle Lifespan
The average lifespan of a bald eagle can be up to 20 years whereas if the eagle is bred in a zoo, it lives up to 48 to 50 years!
Bald Eagle Diet
The bald eagle’s food consumption usually consists of fishes like salmon. In addition to this delicacy, these predators also feast on muskrats, ducks, rabbits and sometimes turtles. When not in the mood to go fishing, these notorious eagles snatch the catch of the osprey, which is another type of eagle.
Bald Eagle Habitat
The bald eagles are usually indigenous to the swamp and watery areas with tall trees used for nesting. They are, thus, found near seacoasts, rivers, large lakes or marshes.
Some sub-species of bald eagles migrate according to the adverse weather conditions and the availability of food resources.
Bald Eagle Endangered species
You would be shocked to know that in early 1960’s, number of these eagles nesting pairs was less than 450! The main reasons for such a reduction in the eagles number is thought to be excess usage of the pesticide DDT, illegal hunt, lead poisoning and such. After such a huge reduction in the count, many actions were taken by the US government and this species was placed under the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened. After many efforts, the species is back to being out of the danger of extinction! Today there are about 70,000 bald eagles living in the world. Isn’t this a great news!
3 Amazing Bald Eagle Facts
- This eagle features on the great seal of The United States.
- Bald eagle has approximately 7000 feathers.
- They have a very sharp eye sight. It is 4 times sharper than a perfect human eyesight.