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Eagle is the common name for a number of diurnal birds of prey, some of which are the largest members of their family which also includes kites, hawks, buzzards, and certain vultures. The name eagle is somewhat loosely applied, as several of the groups are not particularly closely related to one another, and some birds called hawks are larger than some called eagles.
Congress chose the American Bald Eagle in 1782 as the emblem of the United States. On the national seal the eagle is shown with its wings spread, holding an olive branch in one claw and arrows in the other. Only two species of eagles are found in the North America, the bald eagle and the Golden Eagle.
The world's 59 species of eagles are found on every continent except Antarctica. There are four major groups of eagles: fish eagles, booted eagles, snake eagles and giant forest eagles. America's eagles are the Bald Eagle, which is a fish eagle, and the Golden Eagle, which is a booted eagle. Both Golden and Bald Eagles reside in the United States.
The more common Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus) has white tail feathers and white plumes on the head and neck. The female is fiercer than the male, and is several inches larger. A sea eagle and the bald eagle migrates only if the body of water that it normally fishes freezes. It returns each year to the same nest, called an aerie, with the same mate.
The Golden Eagle (Aquila Chrysaetos), a magnificent bird, is more common in the Old World than in the New World, but it is found in the western part of North America from Mexico to Alaska. It is somewhat larger than the bald eagle, and its plumage is darker except for tawny feathers on its head and neck that shimmer like gold. The bald eagle has bare ankles, whereas the legs of the golden eagle are feathered to the toes. The Golden Eagle builds its huge nest on a high mountain crag.
