Not bald at all
Bald comes from an old word meaning white. Its head is covered in white feathers.
Northern forest
Bald eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
A big, dark-brown eagle with a white head, a white tail and a heavy yellow beak.
- Size
- Wingspan up to 2.3m
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Near lakes, rivers and coasts across North America
Soars round you on flat wings. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Bald eagle
Good to know
Six things about the bald eagle
Brown for five years
Young eagles are brown all over. The white head and tail come at about five years old.
The biggest nest
Pairs add to the same nest every year. One weighed nearly two tonnes.
A fishing eagle
It snatches fish from the surface with its feet, and often steals them from ospreys.
Saved in time
A farm chemical called DDT nearly wiped it out. After DDT was banned, the eagles recovered.
A small voice
Its call is a weak, chirping whistle. Films usually dub in the scream of a hawk.
The real thing
Photos of the bald eagle
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Look in tall trees beside big rivers and lakes. In winter, hundreds gather on rivers in Alaska and British Columbia to feed on salmon.
How to help
The bald eagle shows that protection works. Lead from fishing weights and shot still poisons eagles: lead-free tackle helps.
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