The national bird of the USA is Bald Eagle. The bald eagle was selected on 20th June 1782, as the emblem of the United States of America. United States national bird, Bald Eagle was chosen because of its long life, great strength, and majestic looks, and also because it was then believed to exist only on this continent. The royal and majestic bird is considered as the national bird of the United States of America.
While you’ve got the answer to the question: “What is the national bird of United States of America?” definitely you’ve more questions about Blad Eagle. Before answering those common questions, we’ll represent some basic facts of Bald Eagle.
Facts about the USA’s national bird
- Common Name: Bald eagle
- Scientific name: Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Falconiformes
- Family: Accipitridae
- Genus: Haliaeetus (sea eagle) leucocephalus (white head)
- Species: Haliaeetus (sea eagle) leucocephalus (white head)
- Diet: Prefers fish swimming close to the water’s surface; also feeds on small mammals, waterfowl, wading birds, and dead animal matter (carrion)
- Found in: North America from Alaska and Canada south into Florida and Baja, California
- Habitat: Live and nest near coastlines, rivers, lakes, wet prairies, and coastal pinelands
- Average Length: Approximately 1 m (3 ft.) in height; 2.3 m (7 ft.) wingspan;
- Average Weight: male 3.5-4 kg (8-9 lb.) female 4.5-6 kg (10-14 lb.)
- Average Lifespan: 20 years (In the wild)
- Average Speed: 20-40 mph in normal flight and can dive at speeds over 100 mph.
The bald eagle is not really bald; it actually has white feathers on its head, neck, and tail. Bald is a deviation of the blade, an Old English word meaning white. The eagle was named for its white feathers instead of a lack of feathers.
There are more than 60 different species of eagle in the world with only 2 of these eagle species being found in the USA and Canada. Despite its name, the bald eagle has a full head of feathers but their bright white color makes the bald eagle very distinguishable.
Fish often comprise the majority of the eagle’s diet. In 20 food habit studies across the species’ range, fish comprised 56% of the diet of nesting eagles, birds 28%, mammals 14% and other prey 2%. Preferred avian prey includes grebes, alcids, ducks, gulls, coots, herons, egrets, and geese. Bird species most preferred as prey by eagles tend to be medium-sized, such as western grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and American coots (Fulica americana) as such prey is relatively easy for the much larger eagles to catch and fly with.
Benjamin Franklin wrote: I wish that the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of the national symbol of United States of America – USA, he is a bird of bad moral character, he does not get his living honestly, you may have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the fishing-hawk, and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish and is bearing it to its nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes it from him. In short, Bald Eagle has a huge reason to be the National bird symbol of the United States of America – USA.
References:
- “Details about Bald Eagle” – baldeagleinfo.com
- “Details about Bald Eagle” – Wikipedia