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Animals · Extraordinary birds

Bald eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

The raptor that is not actually bald

An adult in flight with a white head and tail, dark brown body, and bright yellow beak and feet.
An adult in flight with a white head and tail, dark brown body, and bright yellow beak and feet.
  • Status: Safe
  • Coasts, lakes, and rivers of North America

Numbers

Weight
10 lbfrom 6.5 to 13 lb; females are about 25 percent larger than males
Length
33 infrom 28 to 40 in
Lifespan
20 yearsfrom 15 to 20 years
Wingspan
7,5 ftfrom 6 to 7.5 ft
Egg weight
26,5 ozfrom 2 to 4 eggs per clutch
First flight
3 monthsage at which nestlings learn to fly

Ten fun facts

  1. the Italian name for the bald eagle translates to white-headed sea eagle, because the bird is not actually bald at all.

  2. female bald eagles are about twenty-five percent larger than males, which is the only visible difference between the two sexes.

  3. a single bald eagle egg can weigh up to twenty-six ounces, and a female usually lays two to four per clutch.

  4. newly hatched bald eagles are entirely white and are only about the same size as an American robin.

  5. when a clutch contains three or more eggs, the weakest chick in the nest often fails to survive.

  6. the call of the bald eagle is surprisingly high-pitched and weak, consisting mainly of squeaks, chirps, and shrill whistles.

  7. bald eagles use three distinct calls, and they give their loudest call when they perceive a threat near their nest.

  8. around nineteen twenty, the species came close to extinction because people hunted it for trophies or considered it harmful.

  9. there are now about one hundred fifty thousand bald eagles in the United States and another fifteen to twenty thousand in Canada.

  10. the bald eagle is the largest raptor in North America after the California condor, though the golden eagle has broader wings.

The quiz answers

Five questions about this animal. Pick an answer and find out if it is the right one.

Question 1 of 5

Why is it called bald?

Question 2 of 5

Which prey does it hunt the most?

Question 3 of 5

Which sex is larger?

Question 4 of 5

How much can one of its eggs weigh?

Question 5 of 5

When did it officially become the national bird of the United States?

Try it yourself

Experiment 1

Measure seven and a half feet on the floor with a tape measure to mark its maximum wingspan. Lie down next to it and compare it to your height.

Experiment 2

Place twenty-six ounces of flour on a kitchen scale. That is the incredible weight a single egg of this large bird of prey can reach.

Experiment 3

Mark three months from today on your calendar. That is how long chicks stay in the nest before they finally learn how to fly.

Data from Wikidata (Q127216) and Wikipedia (Bald eagle).