EAGLE
- Bald Eagles are not really bald. Their head is actually covered with
white feathers.
- The white feathers on their head come when they are 5 or 6 years old.
- Baby eagles are partially covered with down, but when they leave
the nest; they have dark feathers all over.
- The female can be one third larger than the male.
- They have wide long wings that help them stay in the air.
- A Bald Eagles wing span is normally 8 feet.
- Usually they live near the sea.
- They only live in trees 75 feet or higher.
- Bald Eagles add to their nest over and over. Sometimes it can take
a pair of eagles as long as six weeks to build their nest for the first
time.
- The eyrie is the large nest made of sticks and lined with twigs and
green grass. The heaviest nest ever found is 1 ton. (That's 2000 pounds!)
- They mate for life. The female may lay from one to three eggs and
raises one brood (group) a year. If these eggs are destroyed the female
may lay more eggs. It takes four weeks for an eagle egg to hatch.
- Eaglets grow slowly and need a large amount of food.
- Bald Eagles normally eat fish. Sometimes they will eat snakes and
smaller birds.
- They have long sharp beaks and curved talons to help hold prey.
- They can fly with 8 pounds of food.
- Bald Eagles help man by catching rodents and rabbits that destroy
grain fields.
- Eagles have great eyesight that helps them see for one to one and
a half miles away. (Thus the term eagles eye) They can dive at 100 miles
per hour. Their eyesight and diving ability help them catch food.
- Bald Eagles are the national symbol of the United States.
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