When seen well, the golden eagle is distinctive in plumage with a more solid warm brown color than an immature bald eagle, with a reddish-golden patch to its nape and (in immature birds) a highly contrasting set of white squares on the wing. Immature bald eagles are distinguishable from the golden eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos), the only other very large, non-vulturine bird in North America, in that the former has a larger, more protruding head with a larger beak, straighter edged wings which are held flat (not slightly raised) and with a stiffer wing beat and feathers which do not completely cover the legs.
The plumage of the immature is a dark brown overlaid with messy white streaking until the fifth (rarely fourth, very rarely third) year, when it reaches sexual maturity. vocifer) (from far outside the bald eagle's range) also has a brown body, white head and tail, but differs from the bald in having a white chest and black tip to the bill. The closely related African fish eagle ( H. The adult bald eagle is unmistakable in its native range. The beak is large and hooked, with a yellow cere.
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 legs are feather-free, and the toes are short and powerful with large talons. Males and females are identical in plumage coloration, but sexual dimorphism is evident in the species, in that females are 25% larger than males. The beak, feet and irises are bright yellow. The tail is moderately long and slightly wedge-shaped. The plumage of an adult bald eagle is evenly dark brown with a white head and tail. It was removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the Lower 48 States on June 28, 2007. government's list of endangered species on Jand transferred to the list of threatened species. Populations have since recovered and the species was removed from the U.S. In the late 20th century it was on the brink of extirpation in the contiguous United States. The bald eagle is both the national bird and national animal of the United States of America. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males. The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years.īald eagles are not actually bald the name derives from an older meaning of "white headed". It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide, and 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) in weight. The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons.
It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). It is displacing native English erne which is from Middle English ern which is from Old English earn which is descended from Proto-Germanic * arô which is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European * h₃érō meaning "large bird, eagle". The word 'eagle' comes from Middle English egle, which was borrowed from Old French aigle which descends from Latin aquila. The Bald Eagle ( Haliaeetus Leucocephalus, from Greek hali "sea", aiētos "eagle", leuco "white", cephalos "head") is a bird of prey found in North America.