It's hooked bill and legs are massive and yellow. Adult birds are dark brown to black. Their distinctive white head and tail plumage develops during their fourth or fifth year.
Immature birds are dark brown with mottled white wings and are often confused with golden eagles.
When hunting, the great bird circles high in the sky, scanning the ground with its keen eyesight and swooping down suddenly to take its prey. The bald eagle is an efficient hunter whose sharp talons rarely miss their target. Because of their appetite for fish, bald eagles are often found near water. The birds are primarily found in the eastern and central areas of the state during this time, although some pairs have established permanent nest sites in the state. After pairing, both eagles build a colossal nest as high as 70 feet off the ground in the fork of a tree or side of a cliff.