Bald Eagle
By Katharine  

          There are about 60 kinds of eagles. Almost all of them are native to tropical regions, especially in Africa and Asia. Only two kinds of eagles, the bald eagle, and the golden eagle, are native to the United States and Canada.

             The bald eagle isn’t truly bald. Its head is just covered with white feathers so that from faraway distances, the head looks bald. Its tail is also white. A baby bald eagle, or eaglet, is dark brown with scattered light markings all over its body. The bald eagle can only be found in North America and it’s the national bird of the U.S.
            Until the middle of the 1900’s, hunters and trappers did trap and kill many bald eagles. But don’t worry, federal law has protected the species since 1940 in the lower 48 states, and in 1953 in Alaska. The number of bald eagles dropped because of the pollution in lakes and rivers with pesticides and industrial wastes. By the middle of the 1970’s, there were only 2,000-3,000 bald eagles living in the lower 48 states.
              Since then, however, the bald eagles have made a slow comeback. The U.S. government has stopped uses of certain pesticides, such as DDT, and other pollutants. Conservation groups have put more young eagles in previous nesting areas. Bald eagles also have become used to people, and now they often nest in areas close to human activity. Today, there are about 20,000 bald eagles in the lower 48 states. About 85,000 bald eagles are thought to live in Canada, and Alaska. These awesome birds are pretty, strong, and very powerful. That’s why they’re the national bird of America.

James W. Grier, "Eagle," World Book Online Americas Edition,
http://www.worldbookonline.com /ar?/ na/ ar/ co/ ar171200.htm, April 1, 2003.

Books

Wright, Alexandra. Will We Miss Them? Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 1992
Quiri, Patricia R. The Bald Eagle. New York: Children's Press, 1998

Images

Images of bald eagle from "Microsoft Office Design Gallery Live" <http://dgl.microsoft.com/?CAG=1> Images free for non-profit and personal use. (December-March, 2003).