Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) lives in coastal and inland waterway across North America. It feeds on fish and carrion. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Hear the Bald Eagle
A real field recording of the Bald Eagle, made in the wild.
Bald eagles build nests so massive they dwarf any other bird structure, up to 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide and weighing a full metric ton, the heaviest known bird nest on Earth. One Florida nest, used for three decades, weighed 2 tons when it fell out of a tree.
A bald eagle's body swells with latitude: females average 5.6 kg (12 lb) while males sit around 4.1 kg (9 lb), a 25 % size gap that widens in the north. In Alaska, giant females top 7 kg (15 lb) and stretch a 2.44 m (8 ft) wingspan, the species' extreme. This pattern follows Bergmann's rule, birds grow larger farther from the equator.
Bald eagles were nearly wiped out in the lower 48 states, but a ban on hunting and the removal of DDT slowed the decline. Their status rose from "endangered" to "threatened" in 1995 and was finally cleared from the federal list in 2007, showing how swift policy can reverse a species' decline and restore a national icon to thriving numbers across the continent.
Jackie the bald eagle became a virtual classroom star: a live camera perched 145 m (476 ft) up a Jeffrey pine streamed her daily life to 1.3 million Facebook followers, turning nest-watching into a global lesson. The buzz helped raise $10 million from 25 000 donors to protect 25 ha of forest, proving that a single eagle's story can mobilise millions and fund real-world habitat preservation.
When cruising on thermals, a bald eagle glides at 56-70 km/h (35-43 mph) and can still manage 48 km/h (30 mph) while clutching a fish. In a dive it rockets to 120-160 km/h (75-99 mph), though it rarely plunges straight down.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
As the bald eagle soars through the sky, its snow-white head and tail feathers glisten like beacons against the darker tones of its body, a majestic sight to behold as it rides the thermal currents with effortless ease. With wings outstretched, it glides effortlessly over the landscape, its piercing gaze scanning the terrain below for the telltale glint of water and the promise of a unsuspecting catch. In a flash of powerful motion, it tucks its wings and plunges downwards, a swift and deadly hunter in a realm where it reigns supreme.
Advertisement
Hear the Bald Eagle, and 4,400+ more
Real recorded sounds, 11 nature games and a free Daily 5, 1v1 quiz duels, conservation wins and a safe Kids mode. Free on Feravox.
