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The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus
leucocephalus) is a raptor that is indigenous to North America,
and is the national symbol of the United States of America. The
species was on the brink of extinction late in the 20th century
but has largely recovered and now has a stable population. The
bird gets its English and scientific names from the distinctive
white color of the adult's head feathers. "Baeld" is
the Old English word for white; Haliaeetus is the New Latin for
sea eagle, from Greek haliaetos, and leucocephalus is the Greek
for white head, from leukos (white) and kephale (head). An immature
bird has speckled brown feathers all over, the distinctive head
and body plumage arriving 2–3 years later, before sexual
maturity. Adult females have a wingspan of approximately 2.1 meters
(7 feet); adult males have a wingspan of 2 meters (6 feet, 6 inches).
Adult females weigh approximately 5.8 kg (12.8 lb), males weigh
4.1 kg (9 lb). Bald
eagles are powerful fliers, and ride thermal convection currents
to range far.
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Bald Eagles are
sexually mature at 4 or 5 years of age. Mated pairs produce between
one and three eggs per year, but it is rare for all three chicks
to successfully fledge. Third chicks are sometimes removed from
nests to use in reintroduction programs in areas where the species
has died out. In such programs, the birds are raised in boxes,
on platforms in the tree canopy, and fed in such a way that they
cannot see the person supplying their food, until they are old
enough to fly and find their own food. Bald
Eagles which are old enough to nest often return to the area in
which they were raised. They are more social than many other raptor
species: an adult bald eagle looking for a nesting site is more
likely to select a location that contains other immature eagles
than one with no eagle population.
Above Images Are From The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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