The bald eagle is a rather large bird with a white head, similar to an eagle. The eagle is a predator. This representative of the hawk family lives in North America. In the USA, this freedom-loving bird is one of the national symbols. A stylized image of a bald eagle adorns the coat of arms of the United States, minted on many coins.
How does this white-headed bird of prey look like an eagle?
Like eagles, these large raptors soar above the ground, making rare strokes. And in size, this bird with a white head is similar to an eagle: the average body length of a male reaches 81 cm, and the wingspan is two meters (for comparison, it should be noted that the body length of an eagle is 75-88 cm, and the wingspan is slightly larger than that of eagles - 2.4 m). Female eagles are usually slightly larger than males: their weight ratio is 4.1 kg: 5.4 kg. And with a hook-shaped beak, bent down at the end, this bird with a white head looks like an eagle, and many of its habits. Even the eagle nests, like an eagle, on tall trees or rocks, soars in the air for just as long, looking out forprey, then attacks small animals, which are carried away in claws to a secluded place or to a nest to feed offspring. Precisely in order to pierce the prey and deftly cling to it, holding it in the air on the fly, feathered predators have strongly developed claws located on the hind toes. Sometimes both species of these predators also feed on carrion, and often look out for prey from above, sitting on a rock or the top of a huge tree. But still, most often you can see the beautiful planning flight of these fearless proud birds.
Distinctive features of bald eagles
1. Plumage
If an eagle has plumage of almost the same color - gray or brown, then the eagle is a black bird with a white head. The upper part of the neck and the wedge-shaped tail are white in the bald eagle. There are also differences in the plumage of the legs: in eagles, the paws are completely, almost to the very fingers, covered with feathers, while in eagles - only half.
2. Eyebrows
The eagles are distinguished by growths located above the eyebrows. Overgrown with feathers, they give the appearance of a formidable, frowning expression.
3. Interestingly, the range of timbre of the bald eagle's voice is quite wide: sometimes they have a piercingly high whistle, reminiscent of the sounds of "quick-kick-kick-kick", and sometimes they seem to croak hoarsely, pronouncing the sound "r" unclearly. Bald eagles prefer to live closer to water bodies where there are a lot of fish, as they sometimes do not mind diversifying their diet with rather large fish.
4. It is known that earlier bald eagles were also common in Russia, they mainly lived on the coast of Bering Island. Schools of spawning salmon attracted them as easy and nutritious prey.
Bald Eagle Subspecies
- Distinguish the southern subspecies of the bald eagle, Leucocephalus, smaller, with a wing length of up to 53 centimeters in females and 57.6 centimeters in males. They live in the southern part of North America up to about 38 degrees north latitude.
- The northern subspecies of the bald eagle, Washingtoniensis is a large bird with a white head. In females of the northern subspecies, the wing length can already be 59 centimeters (an average of 6 centimeters more than that of their southern relatives), and males can have a wing length of 66 centimeters. These birds can be found on the mainland north of the 38th parallel.
