Almost lost, bald eagles have staged a dramatic comeback.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/RhyDin/Zoology/BaldEagleSmithsonian.gif
At their lowest point, only 420 nesting pairs of bald eagle could be found in the continental United States. Now, that number exceeds 6,000, and the once-endangered bald eagle has come soaring back.
Poaching and habitat loss hit eagles hard. Then came DDT, a pesticide once widely used in agriculture. DDT got into our waters, and worked its way up the food chain.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/RhyDin/Zoology/BaldEagle2Smithsonian.gif
The Bald Eagle is a large bird, with a body length of 71?96 centimeters (28?38 in), a wingspan of 168?244 centimeters (66?88 in), and a mass of 3?6.3 kilograms (6.6?14 lb); females are about 25 percent larger than males.
The adult Bald Eagle has a brown body with a white head and tail, and bright yellow irises, taloned feet, and a hooked beak; juveniles are completely brown except for the yellow feet. Males and females are identical in plumage coloration. Its diet consists mainly of fish, but it is an opportunistic feeder. It hunts fish by swooping down and snatching the fish out of the water with its talons. It is sexually mature at four years or five years of age.
The Bald Eagle builds the largest nest of any North American bird, up to 4 meters (13 ft) deep, 2.5 meters (8 ft) wide, and one tonne (1.1 tons) in weight.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/RhyDin/Zoology/20030625-0626eaglesmithsonian.jpg
((Images taken from the Smithsonian Zoological Park, all credits belong to the Smithsonian organization.))
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/RhyDin/Zoology/BaldEagleSmithsonian.gif
At their lowest point, only 420 nesting pairs of bald eagle could be found in the continental United States. Now, that number exceeds 6,000, and the once-endangered bald eagle has come soaring back.
Poaching and habitat loss hit eagles hard. Then came DDT, a pesticide once widely used in agriculture. DDT got into our waters, and worked its way up the food chain.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/RhyDin/Zoology/BaldEagle2Smithsonian.gif
The Bald Eagle is a large bird, with a body length of 71?96 centimeters (28?38 in), a wingspan of 168?244 centimeters (66?88 in), and a mass of 3?6.3 kilograms (6.6?14 lb); females are about 25 percent larger than males.
The adult Bald Eagle has a brown body with a white head and tail, and bright yellow irises, taloned feet, and a hooked beak; juveniles are completely brown except for the yellow feet. Males and females are identical in plumage coloration. Its diet consists mainly of fish, but it is an opportunistic feeder. It hunts fish by swooping down and snatching the fish out of the water with its talons. It is sexually mature at four years or five years of age.
The Bald Eagle builds the largest nest of any North American bird, up to 4 meters (13 ft) deep, 2.5 meters (8 ft) wide, and one tonne (1.1 tons) in weight.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/RhyDin/Zoology/20030625-0626eaglesmithsonian.jpg
((Images taken from the Smithsonian Zoological Park, all credits belong to the Smithsonian organization.))