Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle (*Haliaeetus leucocephalus*) is a bird of prey found in North America Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.

The bald eagle is a feeder which feeds on fish, which it swoops down upon and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species.

Bald Eagles are not bald the name derives from an older meaning of the word, "white headed". The adult is brown with a white head and tail. The yellow beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown.

The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America and appears on its seal.

Description

The plumage of an adult bald eagle is dark brown with a white head and tail. The beak, feet and irises are bright yellow. The legs are feather-free, and the toes are short and powerful with large talons.

The call consists of chirping whistles, *kleek kik ik ik ik*, somewhat similar to a gull's call. The calls of young birds tend to be more harsh and shrill than those of adults.

Behavior

The bald eagle is a powerful flier, and soars in the sky. It reaches speeds of 56–70 km/h (35–43 mph) when gliding and flapping, and about 48 km/h (30 mph) while carrying fish. Its dive speed is between 120–160 km/h (75–99 mph), though it dives vertically. Bald eagles have also been recorded catching up to and then swooping under geese in flight, turning over and thrusting their talons into the other bird's breast. It is migratory, depending on location. If its territory has access to open water, it remains there year-round, but if the body of water freezes during the winter, making it impossible to obtain food, it migrates to the south or to the coast. The bald eagle selects migration routes which take advantage of thermals, updrafts, and food resources. During migration, it may ascend in a thermal and then glide down, or may ascend in updrafts created by the wind against a cliff or other terrain.

Diet And Feeding

The bald eagle is a carnivore with the capacity to consume a great variety of prey. Throughout their range, fish often comprise the majority of the eagle's diet.

Fish

In Southeast Alaska, fish comprise 66% of the year-around diet of bald eagles and 78% of the prey brought to the nest by the parents. At least 100 species of fish have been recorded in the bald eagle's diet.

Birds

Behind fish, the next most prey base for bald eagles are other waterbirds. Waterbirds can seasonally comprise from 7% to 80% of the prey selection for eagles in certain localities. Overall, birds are the most diverse group in the bald eagle's prey spectrum, with 200 prey species recorded. Exceptionally, in the Greater Yellowstone area, birds were eaten as regularly as fish year-around, with both prey groups comprising 43% of the studied dietary intake. Preferred avian prey includes grebes, Ducks, Gulls, Pelicans, Herons, Egrets, and Geese.

Bird species most preferred as prey by eagles tend to be medium-sized, such as Mallards are such prey is relatively easy for the much larger eagles to catch and fly with. American herring gull are the avian prey species for eagles living around Lake Superior. Larger waterbirds are prey as well, with wintering emperor geese and snow geese, which gather in large groups, sometimes becoming regular prey. Other large waterbirds hunted at least occasionally by bald eagles have included adults of Great Black-Backed Gulls, Sandhill Cranes, Brown Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, Canada Geese, and fledgling American White Pelicans. Colony nesting seabirds may be vulnerable to predation. bald eagles are capable of preying on such seabirds at all ages, from eggs to adults, and can effectively cull large portions of a colony.

Along some portions of the North Pacific coastline, bald eagles which had preyed Fish and Sea Otter Pups are now preying mainly on seabird colonies since both the fish and otters have had precipitous population declines, causing concern for seabird conservation. Because of this more extensive predation, some biologist have expressed concern that murres are heading for a "conservation collision" due to heavy eagle predation. Eagles have been confirmed to attack nocturnally active, burrow-nesting seabird species such as storm petrels and shearwaters by digging out their burrows and feeding on all animals they find inside. If a bald eagle flies close by, waterbirds will fly away, though in other cases they may ignore a perched eagle. If the said birds are on a colony, this exposed their eggs and nestlings to scavengers such as gulls. Bird prey may be attacked in flight, with prey up to the size of Canada geese attacked and killed in mid-air. photographs of a bald eagle unsuccessfully attempting to prey on a much larger adult Trumpeter Swan in mid-flight were taken in 2012. While adults often prey on waterbirds, wintering waterfowl are frequently exploited for carcasses to scavenge by immature eagles in harsh winter weather. Bald eagles have been recorded as killing other raptors on occasion. Nine species each of other owls are known to have been preyed upon by bald eagles. Owl prey species have ranged in size from Western Screech-Owls to Snowy Owls (*Bubo scandiacus*). Larger raptors known to have fallen victim to bald eagles have included Red-Tailed Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, Northern Goshawks, Ospreys and Turkey Vultures.

Mammals and other Prey

Mammal prey includes rabbits, hares, squirrels, raccoons, muskrats, beavers, voles, brown rats, sea otter pups, and deer fawns. In North America, wintering bald eagles may become habitual predators of medium-sized mammals that occur in colonies or local concentrations, such as prairie dogs and jackrabbits. Like the golden eagle, bald eagles are capable of attacking jackrabbits and hares of nearly any size.

Other large mammal prey known to be taken by bald eagles include Virginia opossums, nine-banded armadillos, red and Arctic foxes, striped skunks, American minks, and domestic cats. Newborn, dead, sickly, or injured mammals are often targeted. However, more prey such as adult raccoons, North American river otters, and American porcupines are sometimes attacked and killed. In the Chesapeake Bay area, bald eagles are the main natural predators of raccoons. Even a bobcat has been recorded amongst their prey, although this may have been scavenged. Where available, seal colonies can provide much food. On Protection Island, Washington, they commonly feed on harbour seal afterbirths still-borns and sickly seal pups. On San Juan Island in Washington, introduced European rabbits, mainly those killed , comprise nearly 60% of the dietary intake of eagles. These birds also feed on the carrion of large mammals such as elk, moose, deer, caribou, bison, wolves, Arctic foxes, seals, and otters.