Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
A seven-foot wingspan, a white head against grey sky, and an opportunist's appetite. The national bird of the United States is a fish hawk, scavenger, and pirate.
Browse the Woodcut Wild shop →Habitat
Bald eagles live near large bodies of open water — coastlines, big rivers, lakes, and reservoirs — and roost in mature trees within easy flight of fishing grounds. They are most common in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest but now nest in every U.S. state except Hawaii.
Behavior
Adults hunt fish from perches and shallow stoops to the water's surface, but they are equally happy to scavenge carrion, raid duck flocks in winter, and steal kills from osprey. Pairs mate for life and reuse the same massive stick nest for decades, adding to it each year until some weigh over a ton.
Marginalia
- Juvenile bald eagles are mottled brown for four to five years before the white head appears.
- Their eyesight is roughly four to five times sharper than a human's.
- The species was nearly wiped out by DDT in the mid-20th century — fewer than 500 pairs remained in the lower 48 by 1963.
- The name comes from the Old English "balde," meaning white, not hairless.
Kin & neighbors
Common questions
Why is the bald eagle the national bird of the United States?
Congress put it on the Great Seal in 1782 for its long life, its strength, and the fact that it lived in North America and nowhere else. Not everyone approved — Benjamin Franklin privately griped that the eagle was a bird of bad moral character that made its living by theft, and put in a word for the turkey. He lost.
What sound does a bald eagle make?
Not the scream you are picturing. That piercing cry dubbed over eagles in films and ads belongs to a red-tailed hawk. The bald eagle's real voice is a thin, high chitter — a run of weak, chirping whistles that sounds far too small for the bird making it.
How long do bald eagles live?
Twenty to thirty years in the wild once a bird clears its first year, which many do not. Spared the usual hazards — starvation, lead, collisions — captive eagles have lived close to fifty.
Can a bald eagle carry off a dog or cat?
Almost never. A bald eagle can lift maybe four or five pounds, well under its own weight, so the viral clips of eagles airlifting pets are mostly myth. A small animal could be attacked on the ground, but the bird is not flying your dog over the treeline.
Do bald eagles migrate?
Some do, some don't, and the rule is water rather than weather. Eagles stay wherever they can keep fishing and only move when the lakes and rivers freeze; northern birds drift south to crowd along open water, while those in mild coastal country may never leave at all.