Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

By: Will

Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Haliaeetus
Species: Leucocephalus

Physical Description:

The feathers of an adult Bald Eagle are brown with white at the head and tail. Immature eagles are randomly mottled with white until four years old. Their legs are feathered halfway down the tarsus, and the beak, feat, and eyes are bright yellow. They have large tarsi, short and powerful grasping toes, and long talons. The talon of the hind toe is highly developed, and it is used to pierce vital areas whole the prey is held immobile by the front toes. The wing span of Bald Eagles can reach seven and a half feet.

Diet and Feeding Habits:

Primarily fish eaters that prefer salmon, Bald Eagles will also take avian prey. Waterfowl are an important secondary food source, and Bald Eagles eat other animals like rabbits, sea birds, and carrion. When hunting, the Bald Eagle either perches or flies high, swoops down, and snatches prey in it’s talons. Bald Eagles also obtain food through stealing from other birds.

Reproduction:

A mated pair adds on to their nest each breeding year. The nests are mostly made of sticks and can eventually way up to two tons. Females lay from one to three eggs, but mainly two. Incubation ranges five to six weeks. One problem that greatly endanger the recover of the species is offspring competition. The female lays the eggs a few days apart, and incubation starts with the first egg. One to two days is the common age difference between siblings. Older hatchlings rule the young due the their size. With three eggs, the youngest often does not survive. Nest duties among the parents are shared equally: both male and female hunt to provide for their young.

Habitat:

Bald Eagles are able to live anywhere in North America where there are sufficient nest tree, roosts, and feeding grounds. Open water such as a lake or ocean, however, is a necessity.

Role in the Ecosystem:

Towards humans Bald Eagles have a positive and negative background.
Positive: Eagles help ranchers by controlling the game and rodent population. Their feather are used in some Native American ceremonies.
Negative: There isn’t really anything proven negative towards Bald Eagles. However, in the past Bald Eagles were accused of hurting the fish and fur industries. As a result, the government in Alaska once paid two dollars for every dead Bald Eagle brought in. Soon after this happened the government discovered slaughtering Bald Eagles did not affect the fish or fur industries. Another apparently false accusation is Bald Eagles kill large numbers of lambs in open ranches.

Bibliography:

-http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Haliaeetus_leucocephalus.html
-http://www.eagles.org/vueagleweves/surv_env.htm