Bald Eagle Fact Sheet

Bald Eagle Facts Species/Scientific name: H. Levcocephalus Why is it named 'Bald? Despite being full of feathers, it is called 'bald' because in old English, 'bald' meant 'white'. Native To: North America and parts of Mexico, hence, it is also called the American bald eagle. Divided into: Northern and Southern bald eagles. Did you know that the bald eagle is the National Bird of America! Size: The female is usuvally 35 to 37 inches where as the smaller male stands up to 30 to 34 inches tall, Color: It is covered with distinct blackish-brown feathers all over its body with white tail and neck. The beak, legs, feet as well as eyes of these raptors are yellow in color. Lifespan: The average lifespan of a bald eagle can be up to 20 years where as if the eagle is bred in a z00, it may live for 48 to 50 years! Diet: The bald eagle's food consumption usvally consists of fish like salmon, along with muskrats, ducks, rabbits and sometimes, turtles. When not in the mood to go fishing, these notorious eagles snatch the catch of the Osprey, which is another type of eagle. Habitat: They are found near seacoasts, rivers, large lakes or marshes. Some sub-species of bald eagles migrate according to the weather conditions and the availability of food resovrces. Endangered species: You would be shocked to know that in early 1960's, the nomber of these eagles' nesting pairs was less than 450! Action was taken by the US government and this species was placed under the Federal List of Endan- gered and Threatened. After many efforts, the species is back to being out of the danger of extinction! Today there are about 70,000 bald eagles living in the world. Reason for being endangered: The main reasons for such a reduction in the eagles' nomber are thought to be excess usage of the pesticide DDT, illegal hunting, lead poisoning and such. Facts: This eagle features on the great seal of The United States. The bald eagle has approximately 7,000 feathers. • They have a very sharp eye sight. It is 4 times sharper than a perfect homan eyesight. Copyright © 2015 Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved. COm com