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The American Bald Eagle Essay

Decent Essays

I chose the American bald eagle because it is one of the

fastest and strongest species of eagles. It is the national

symbol. The Congress adopted it as the national symbol in

1782. I think it was adopted as the national bird of the

United States because the Roman soldiers used the eagle

as a symbol of courage and power. In the early 1800's,

Americans called the Bald Eagle, the American eagle. Here

is some of the biology of the Bald Eagle. Bald Eagles do a

very good job at their part in the food web. Bald eagles

also have an interesting name. The scientific name for bald

eagles is Haliaeetus leucocephalus. The family order is

accipitridae and falconiformes. The young of bald eagles

are called eaglets or eyasses. Bald eagles …show more content…

Bald eagles live only in the United States and Mexico.

Bald eagles will only live near lakes and rivers. A bald

eagle's nest is about 70 feet above the ground in tall pines

or deciduous trees. Nests are almost 7 feet wide and five

feet deep. The territory of a Bald Eagle has a carrying

capacity of 10 to 40 square miles, per eagle. Eagles will

live in cold, warm and light temperatures. Bald eagles will

eat just about anything; they have a large range in their

predator/prey role. An eagle's diet consists of fish, rodents,

small snakes, and small game birds. It will also steal food

from other species of small birds or other eagles, including

its own kind! Sometimes it will even kill a bird to get food.

It will also eat carrion, food that was already killed, which

means it is sometimes a decomposer. Bald eagles have

interesting ways of protecting themselves. Bald eagles have

oil inside of their feathers to protect themselves from rain or

snow. Bald eagles also have special feathers that will

insulate them in the winter. A female eagle will outstretch its

wings over the young to form a portable shelter. Once,

several students went up to the Quabbin Reservoir, found

an active eagles nest, tore it apart and found 60 cat collars.

Bald eagles were at homeostasis until they were put on the

endangered species list from the 1950s up until the early

1980's. Ever since, federal law has protected bald eagles

and

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