Hunt of the Bald Eagle

by Deena Stoddard

Title

Hunt of the Bald Eagle

Artist

Deena Stoddard

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

The bald eagle, our national bird, is the only eagle unique to North America. At one time, the word "bald" meant "white," not hairless. Bald eagles are found throughout most of North America, from Alaska and Canada to northern Mexico. About half of the world's 70,000 bald eagles live in Alaska. Combined with British Columbia's population of about 20,000, the northwest coast of North America is by far their greatest stronghold for bald eagles. They flourish here in part because of the salmon. Dead or dying fish are an important food source for all bald eagles.

Eagles are a member of the Accipitridae family; which also includes hawks, kites, and old-world vultures.

Scientists loosely divide eagles into four groups based on their physical characteristics and behavior. The bald eagle is a sea or fish eagle.
There are two subspecies of bald eagles. The "southern" bald eagle, is found in the Gulf States from Texas and Baja California across to South Carolina and Florida, south of 40 degrees north latitude. The "northern" bald eagle, is found north of 40 degrees north latitude across the entire continent. The largest numbers of northern bald eagles are in the Northwest, especially in Alaska. The "northern" bald eagle is slightly larger than the "southern" bald eagle. Studies have shown that "northern" bald eagles fly into the southern states and Mexico, and the "southern" bald eagles fly north into Canada. Because of these finding, the subspecies of "northern" and "southern" bald eagles has been discontinued in recent literature.

Both male and female adult bald eagles have a blackish-brown back and breast; a white head, neck, and tail; and yellow feet and beak. Juvenile bald eagles are a mixture of brown and white; with a black beak in young birds. The adult plumage develops when they are sexually mature. It takes about five years for their head and tail feathers to gradually turn white.

The bald eagle is the only eagle confined to North America. There are no other large blackish-brown birds with a white head and tail in North America.



All images © 2011-2020 Deena Stoddard ~ All Rights Reserved

Uploaded

March 11th, 2013

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