Are they endangered? No,
they are not endangered worldwide. (IUCN Red list:
Least concern) They were endangered in the U.S. but
conservation efforts have helped their numbers rise.
What are their
past/present problems?
The Bald Eagle became endangered because they were
hunted. They also died because farmers put DDT (a
pesticide) on their crops to get rid of insects and
! The
farmers would spray the chemicals on their fields and
insects would eat it or be sprayed with it. The eagle’s prey ate the insects, died
of the poison, and then the prey was eaten by the
eagle. This caused the females to lay eggs that were
thin-shelled and would break before they hatched. Every time an egg
would get crushed, there would be one less Bald Eagle in
the world. Habitat loss and having less bison to eat
also cause problems for Bald Eagles.
What do they look
like?
Their bodies are dark brown but the most recognizable
features of this bird are its white head and tail.
How big are they?
Bald Eagles are about three feet long which is very large for an
eagle. If their wings were spread out, they would be between 6
and 8 feet wide.
How many eggs do they
lay?
The female lays two white eggs once a year. The eggs will hatch
in about 4 to 5 weeks.
How long do the
fledglings stay in the nest?
Bald Eagles make stick nests, also called aeries, in a tall tree
or on a rock ledge that is in a place where no one will bother
them. The eaglets (baby eagles) stay in the nest for about 3
months.
When do they hunt?
They hunt during the daytime. (diurnal)
What do they eat?
They like fish the best but will kill ducks and mammals, too.
They also like to steal prey that has been killed by other
raptors. Sometimes they eat dead animals.
Where do they live?
They live in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
What kind of place do
they like to live in?
They like to live in forests by water so they can get fish,
their favorite food and make nests high up in the trees, away
from people.
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Interesting facts:
The Bald Eagle has been the symbol of USA—and its
national bird--since 1782.
The Bald Eagle migrates. When it comes back, it uses
the same nest every year. The birds add more sticks,
branches, and things they find until the nest gets very
big and very heavy. Sometimes they get so heavy that
they break the branches they are sitting on.
Bald Eagles are not bald. They have white feathers on
their heads. The white feathers do not appear
on a Bald Eagle’s head until it is four years old.
Works Cited:
Alderfer, Jonathan. Complete Birds
of North America. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic,
2006.
Alsop, Fred. Birds of North
America. New York: DK Publishing, 2001.
