The Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus – is the first bird to be featured on a United States of America
postage stamp. It is also the national bird of the United States of America.
The Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus - is the
national bird of the USA and
is the only eagle unique to North America. It
is a sea eagle that’s range includes most of Alaska,
Canada and the United States.
About half of the world's bald eagles live in Alaska. Bald Eagles are not actually bald,
the name derives from the older meaning of the word, "white headed".
Description
Bald Eagle is evenly brown with a white head and tail. The
tail is moderately long and slightly wedge-shaped. Males and females are
identical in plumage coloration, but females are 25 percent larger than males.
The beak and feet are yellow. The legs are feather-free, and the toes are short
and powerful with large talons. The highly developed talon of the hind toe is
used to pierce the vital areas of prey while it is held immobile by the front
toes. The beak is large and hooked, with a yellow cere. Young birds are brown,
speckled with white until the forth/fifth year, when they reach sexual
maturity.
The average lifespan of Bald Eagles in the wild is around 20
years, with the oldest living to be about 30.
Call
The call consists of weak chirping whistles, harsher and
shriller from young birds than adults.
Food
Bald eagles feed mainly of fish, but they are opportunistic
feeders. They hunt fish by swooping down and snatching the fish out of the
water with its talons. Locally, eagles may rely largely on carrion, especially
in winter. They will scavenge carcasses and they may also feed on subsistence’s
scavenged or stolen from campsites and picnics, as well as garbage dumps. Prey
includes rabbits, raccoons, muskrats, beavers, grebes, ducks, and geese. Bald
Eagles will steal fish and other prey away from smaller raptors.
Breeding
When they are old enough to breed, they often return to the
area where they were born. It is thought that Bald Eagles mate for life. Bald
Eagle courtship involves elaborate calls and flight displays. The Bald Eagle
builds the largest nest of any North American bird. The nest is built out of
branches, usually in large trees near water. When breeding where there are no
trees, the Bald Eagle will nest on the ground. Eagles produce between one and
three eggs per year, but it is rare for all three chicks to successfully fly.
Both the male and female take turns incubating the eggs. The other parent will
hunt for food or look for nesting material. This species breeds in Canada, USA,
Mexico, and the French
island territories of Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
Conservation Status –Least Concern
In the late 20th century the Bald Eagle was on the brink of
extinction in the United States,
while flourishing in much of Alaska and Canada.
Populations in the US
have recovered and stabilized. It is found near large bodies of open water with
an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting. On June 28, 2007 the
American bald eagle was taken off the Endangered Species List.
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