Bald Eagle
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Haliaeetus
Species: leucocephalus
**Bald Eagle Audio Below**
**NOTE that most of the bald eagle audio you hear on tv, in the movies or on the radio is INCORRECT. That audio is in fact from a Red-tailed Hawk and NOT a Bald Eagle. To hear a Red-tailed hawk click here: Red-tailed Hawk
Description
-
Length: 31"
-
Wing span: 80"
-
Weight: 9.5 lb (4,325 grams)
-
Adults have a very distinct white head and tail with a brown body
-
Large yellow hooked bill
-
Wings are held flat when soaring
-
Yellow unfeathered legs and feet
-
Sexes are silimar in plumage with females being larger
-
Juveniles are variably patterned with dark drown and white scattered throughout the body. Juveniles take five years to acquire full adult plumage
Factoids:
- Preservation efforts brought populations in the lower 48 states back from near exinction in the mid-20th century. Although the Bald Eagle was proposed for removal from the Endangered species List in 1999, populations in the lower 48 states remain relatively low. Humans are the most important source of mortality
- Bald Eagles occasionally hunt cooperatively, with one individual flushing prey towards another
- The immature Bald Eagle has a prolonged period of exploration lasting for four years. Some young from Florida have wandered north to Michigan, and birds from California have reached Alaska
- Opportunistic feeder, but prefers fish. Eats large birds, mammals, and carrion
- The raspy cry of the Red-tailed Hawk is used in movies to represent any eagle or hawk anywhere in the world
About the Photos: (click on link to see this information)
All photographs and audio clips are ©Jamie Mullin 2006
Sources: Cornell Lab of Ornithology & The Sibley Guide to Birds.
 |
|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |