Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Classification
- The most species of animals are insects.
- Kingdom Animalia is also called Metazoa.
- Every animal is multicellular.
Chordata
- The Chordata level has bilateral symmetry.
- An animal that fits into the Chordata group has a complete digestive system.
- The endoskeleton can be seen in the animal.
Vertebrata
- Some animals that are in vertebrata are fishes, birds, and other mammals.
- They have a bony or cartilaginous endoskeleton.
- The general body has a head.
Aves
- The animals that fit into this class have a horny beak and no teeth.
- They all have feathers.
- The birds all have hard-shelled eggs.
Falconformes
- Diurnal birds of prey
Haliaeetus
- Fish eagles
General Description
Physical description
Bald eagles have four levels of maturation stages. Right after hatching they have dark eyes with pink legs and skin. Their first year their body, eyes, and beak are dark brown. During their 3rd year their beaks and eyes begin to turn yellow. The next year their body becomes mostly dark and their head and tail become white.Wingspan
8 feet
Weight
9.47 pounds
length
31.10- 37.01 inches
Lifespan
50 years
Geographic Range
The Bald eagle commonly lives in America, and Canada.
Survival Rate
immature Bald eagles could have a survival rate of 89% in rural habitats.
Habitat
They like to live near water sources because that provides the food that they eat.
Behavioral Adaptations
An adaptation for the Bald eagle is when the Bald eagle flies above the water waiting for its prey. This helps them survive because right when their prey comes close they can snatch it right away. Another one is that their nests are built 45- 70 feet high. This helps them because ground predators can't get up to where their nest is. Bald eagles also flap their wings to threaten their predator. This aids them because they can scare off their predator and think that the Bald eagle will strike at them. They also rob birds such as Ospreys because they have fish and the Bald eagle is bigger than them. So it is easier for them to get fish. Also both parents both share caring for the eaglets. This helps because if their babies weren't protected they could be in great danger.
Physical Adaptations
Bald eagles can see 1.5 miles away. This helps them because if they couldn't see this far they would have a lot of trouble catching their prey. Bald eagles also have good hearing. They use this during the day to hunt for their prey. Also their talons are physical adaptations. This aids them because if they did not have talons it would be harder for them to catch fish. Bald eagles also have their wings as an adaptation. This is true because if they did not have wings they could not fly, and if they could not fly then it would make itself more visible to predators on the ground. Last their voices because without their voices they would not be able to communicate with their mates during breeding season.
I bet you didn't know...
- that its grip strength is ten times better than an average human.
- The largest Bald eagle nest was found in Florida.
- Bald eagles can't move their eyes side to side so they have to turn their heads side to side.
Geographic Range
Flying
The National Emblem
References
References
Bald eagle. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/bald-eagle
Bald eagle. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/bald_eagle_deciduous.htm
Bald eagle. (n.d.). Retrieved from Brookfield Zoo website: http://www.czs.org/Brookfield-ZOO/Zoo-Animals/Great-Bear-Wilderness/Bald-Eagle
Bald eagle. (1995). In D. Lechner (Ed.), Amazing animals of the world (p. 12). Danbury, CT: Grolier Educational.
Burton, M. (2002). Bald eagle. In International wildlife encyclopedia (3rd ed., pp. 123-125). New York, NY: Marshall Cavendish.
Siciliano Martina, L. 2013. "Haliaeetus leucocephalus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 11, 2015 at http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Haliaeetus_leucocephalus/