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Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalusOrder: FALCONIFORMESFamily: Kites, Eagles and Hawks (Accipitridae)

Bald Eagle Portrait
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General

Bald Eagle: Large, hawk-like bird with dark brown body and white head and tail. Heavy bill, legs, feet, and eyes are yellow. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is dark brown with variable white mottling on wings and tail for the first four years of life.

Range and Habitat

Bald Eagle: Formerly distributed across most of North America; now limited to breeding in Alaska, Canada, northern Great Lakes states, Gulf coast states, and the Pacific northwest. Move south from northern breeding grounds during winters. Preferred habitats include open water areas that support large numbers of waterfowl or fish.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kleek-kik-ik-ik", "kak-kak-kak"

Interesting Facts

  • The Bald Eagle has been the symbol of the United States of America since 1782.
  • At one time, the word “bald” (balde) meant white—not hairless—referring to the white head and upper neck of the adult Bald Eagle.
  • They can live up to 40 years in the wild and even longer in captivity.
  • A group of eagles has many collective nouns, including an "aerie", "convocation", "jubilee", "soar", and "tower" of eagles.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Bald Eagle
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Length34 - 43 Inches
Wingspan84 Inches

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle: Large, hawk-like bird, dark brown body and white head, tail. Heavy bill, legs, feet, eyes are yellow. Hunts for fish, which it sometimes steals from ospreys. Eats carrion and crippled or injured squirrels, rabbits, muskrats and waterfowl. Flap-and-glide flight, also soars on thermals.

● Song: "kleek-kik-ik-ik", "kak-kak-kak"

● Foraging & Feeding: Bald Eagle: Feeds primarily on fish, which they catch themselves, find dead, or steal from other birds such as ospreys; also feeds on carrion or live prey including waterfowl, other birds, turtles, and rabbits. Road-killed deer are a favorite and leads to many eagles being hit by cars.

● Breeding & nesting: Bald Eagle: Builds a huge stick nest (sometimes weighing over 1 ton), usually about 6 feet in diameter and more than 6 feet tall, near the top of large tree near a river or lake. Female lays two dull white to light blue eggs. Both parents incubate eggs for 35 days. Young grow quickly and leave the nest between 10 and 12 weeks of age.

● Similar species: Bald Eagle: Golden Eagle has less massive bill, less blotchy white on underwings and underparts, and has golden feathers on head. Steller's Eagle has a long, wedge-shaped white tail and white thighs and shoulders.

Flight Pattern

Several deep wing beats alternate with long glides., Direct flight with deep steady wing beats., Soars on thermals.
Bald Eagle Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Bald Eagle: Formerly distributed across most of North America; now limited to breeding in Alaska, Canada, northern Great Lakes states, Gulf coast states, and the Pacific northwest. Move south from northern breeding grounds during winters. Preferred habitats include open water areas that support large numbers of waterfowl or fish.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common to common, Local outside FL & AK
MigrationMigratory
Weight168 Ounces