Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is a large fish-eating raptor found throughout North America, closely associated with coastlines, rivers, and large lakes. Its iconic white head and tail, achieved only at full maturity, have made it a widely recognized national symbol.

Adult Bald Eagle tail feathers are entirely pure white, a feature shared with few other large raptors in the same range, combined with a solidly dark brown body and wing plumage and a white head. Flight feathers are broad, with deep notching (emargination) at the tips of the outer primaries typical of large soaring raptors, and are uniformly dark brown lacking any pale windows. Immature birds, however, show a highly variable, mottled mix of brown and white on the body, underwing, and tail that can persist for several years, often causing confusion with the similarly large Golden Eagle, whose juveniles show cleaner, more sharply defined white patches at the base of the flight and tail feathers rather than the messier mottling of a young Bald Eagle.

Bald Eagles take about four to five years to reach the full adult plumage of white head and tail against dark brown body, progressing through several distinct immature plumages with varying amounts of white mottling in the interim. Sexes look alike, though females are notably larger. Adults undergo a slow, sequential molt of flight feathers over more than a year.

Bald Eagles are strongly tied to water, nesting and foraging along coastlines, rivers, and large lakes across most of North America. Northern populations are migratory, moving south or to open water in winter, while southern populations are largely resident year-round.

Bald Eagles feed primarily on fish, caught by swooping to the water's surface, but also scavenge carrion and take waterbirds opportunistically. The call is a surprisingly high, thin chattering or piping series of notes rather than a powerful screech. Nests are massive stick structures built high in trees or on cliffs, often reused and enlarged over many years.