Bald Eagle

== Roleplays that feature this creature ==
* Welcome to the Farm
== Other info ==
Newly hatched bald eaglets are covered in fluffy white down, which darkens to appear more gray as they get older. To keep them from freezing to death, bald eagle mothers will stay on the nest to keep their eaglets warm until they turn about 1 week and 2 days to 1 week and 3 days old. By the time the bald eaglets are old enough to no longer need their mother to keep them warm, their down has turned silver. When food is scarce, young bald eaglets may aggressively fight each other to the death over food. This usually doesn't happen when food is abundant.
By the age of 3 weeks, bald eaglets will now be covered in dark gray down and are getting bigger, although still considerably smaller than their parents. At the age of 1 month, bald eagles start growing in their dark brown juvenile feathers, and have almost finished growing them in by the age of 2 months to 2 months and 2 weeks, with an exception for their tail & wing feathers. They have also begun exercising their wings in preparation to fledge by this point.
Juvenile bald eagles fledge at the age of 2 months and 3 weeks to 3 months and 1 week, but are still dependent on their parents for food. They now follow their parents everywhere, watching them hunt. Over time, they begin to scavenge and become a little less dependent on their parents for food. Some juveniles even start learning to hunt while they're still with their parents, although others may start learning to hunt months later, long after they have parted ways with their parents. The presence of parents doesn't seem to be necessary in learning to hunt for these raptors.
Bald eagles leave their parents at the age of 4-6 months. At this point, they have dark brown plumage with some white markings. At the age of 2 years, white markings become thicker and more apparent. By the age of 4 years, the white markings have mostly disappeared, leaving primarily dark brown plumage with an exception for the head, which is now almost entirely white with some dark brown speckles still leftover. By the time the bald eagle is 4 years and 6 months to 5 years old, they now have adult plumage, consisting of mostly dark brown feathers with white tail feathers and a white head.
Category:Animal Pages