The bald eagle is a fairly large bird with a white head, similar to an eagle. Orlan is a predator. This representative of the hawk family in North America lives. In the USA, this freedom-loving bird is one of the national symbols. A stylized image of a bald eagle adorns the coat of arms of the United States, is minted on many coins.
How does this bird of prey with a white head look like an eagle?
Like eagles, these large feathered predators soar above the ground, making rare swings. And the size of this bird with a white head is similar to an eagle: the average length of the male’s body reaches 81 cm, and the wingspan is two meters (for comparison, it should be noted that the body length of the eagle is 75-88 cm, and the wingspan is slightly larger than that of eagles - 2.4 m). Female eagles are usually slightly larger than males: their weight ratio is 4.1 kg: 5.4 kg. And with a hook-shaped beak, bent down at the end, this bird with a white head looks like an eagle, and with many of its habits. Even an eagle nests, like an eagle, on tall trees or rocks, soars for so long in the air, looking for prey, then attacks small animals, which it carries in its claws to a secluded place or nest to feed offspring. Precisely in order to pierce the prey and deftly cling to it, keeping it in the air on the fly, feathered predators have highly developed claws located on the back fingers of their feet. Sometimes both species of these predators feed on carrion, and often look for prey from above, sitting on a rock or top of a huge tree. But still, most often you can see exactly the beautiful planning flight of these fearless proud birds.
Distinctive features of bald eagles
1. Plumage
If the eagle has plumage of almost the same color - gray or brown, then the eagle is a black bird with a white head. In the bald eagle, the upper part of the neck and the wedge-shaped tail are white . There are also differences in the plumage of the legs: in the eagles the legs are completely, almost to the very toes, covered with feathers, and in the eagles - only half.
2. Eyebrows
The eagles are distinguished by growths located above the eyebrows. Overgrown with feathers, they create the appearance of a formidable, frowning expression.
3. It is interesting that the timbre range of the bald eagle’s voice is quite wide: they sometimes have a high-pitched whistle, reminiscent of “quick-kick-kick-kick” sounds, and sometimes they seem to hoarse croak, unclearly pronouncing the sound “p”. Bald eagles prefer to live closer to bodies of water, where a lot of fish live, since sometimes they would like to diversify their diet with a rather large fish.
4. It is known that earlier bald eagles were also common in Russia, mainly they lived on the coast of Bering Island. Shoals of salmon fish going to spawn attracted them, being easy and nutritious prey.
Subspecies of bald eagle
- The southern subspecies of the bald eagle, Leucocephalus, is smaller, with a wing length of up to 53 centimeters in females and 57.6 centimeters in males. They inhabit the southern part of North America to about 38 degrees north latitude.
- The northern subspecies of the bald eagle, Washingtoniensis is a large bird with a white head. In females of the northern subspecies, the wing length can already be 59 centimeters (an average of 6 centimeters more than their southern counterparts), and males can have a wing length of 66 centimeters. These birds can be found on the mainland north of the 38th parallel.