The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two well-known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). The group includes Alaska, Canada, the contiguous states, and northern Mexico. They are found near large, open bodies of water with an abundance of food and ancient nesting trees.
The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder that depends primarily on fish diving in and grabbing them from the water with their claws. Builds the largest nest of any bird in North America and the largest tree nest ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 metres (13 feet) deep, 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) wide and 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons). Sexual maturity is reached at about four to five years of age.
Bald Eagles are not really bald. The name is derived from the old meaning of the word "white head". The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are similar in plumage, but the females are about 25 percent larger than the males. The bill is large and hooked. Immature brown plumage.
The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America. The bald eagle appears on its seal. In the late twentieth century, it was on the verge of extinction in the contiguous United States. The population has since rebounded and the species was removed from the U.S. government's threatened species list on July 12, 1995 and moved to the endangered species list. It was removed from the list of endangered and threatened species in neighbouring states on 28 June 2007.
Describe
The adult bald eagle has uniform dark brown plumage with a white head and tail. . Males and females have similar plumage coloration, but sexual dimorphism is evident in the species, with females being 25% larger than males. [3] The bill, legs and iris are bright yellow. The legs are featherless, the toes are short and strong and the claws are large. The highly developed posterior heel of the toe is used to penetrate vital areas of prey while being anchored by the front toes. [4] The bill is large and hooked, with a yellow stem. [5] The adult bald eagle is unambiguously within its native range. The African bald eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) (far from the range of the bald eagle) also has a brown body (although a little red) and a white head and tail, but differs from the bald in that it has a black and white box with a tip On the bill. [6]
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