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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
eagle |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Falconiformes |
| FAMILY: |
Accipitridae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
No
data |
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| SIZE: |
Most
eagles are large in size, 60-90 cm (24-36 in.) in
length with a 1.8 m (6 ft.) wingspan. The American
harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) is the largest
of all the eagles, with length of 110 cm (43.5 in.)
and a 2.4 m (8 ft.) wingspan. |
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| DIET: |
Varies
with type of eagle - can include reptiles, fishes,
birds, small to medium sized mammals, and some even
feed on carrion |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Varies with species; both the bald eagle and the
golden eagle may survive 30 or more years |
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| RANGE: |
Eagles
can be found across most major land areas except
Antarctica and New Zealand |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
The
bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, is
listed as Threatened. Many other species of eagle
are listed as Endangered. |
| CITES |
Many
species listed |
| USFWS |
Many
species listed; 3 species as Critically Endangered
and 1 species as Endangered |
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| 1. |
Eagles
are often further divided into four categories
depending on diet and physical features. Some
examples include:
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true
or booted eagles - "booted" is a reference to the leg feathers, which
extend all the way down to the toes. Golden
eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are a type
of true or booted eagle. |
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harpy
eagles - the six types of harpy eagles
can be identified by the crests on their heads. |
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fish
eagles - diet is mainly fish. Bald eagles
(Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are a type
of fish eagle, but their diet also consists
of birds and small mammals. In addition, bald
eagles are scavengers that harass other birds
and steal their fish. |
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snake
eagles - diet includes a variety of snakes.
Bateleur eagles (Terathopius ecuadatus)
are snake eagles |
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| 2. |
For
more information about raptors, explore the RAPTORS INFOBOOK. |
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| Benjamin
Franklin was opposed to the idea of choosing the
bald eagle as the national bird of the United States,
possibly because of their scavenging nature. Franklin
favored the wild turkey instead. Despite his argument
that the wild turkey was more important to American
settlers, the bald eagle was declared the national
bird of the United States in 1782. But human activities
such as pesticide contamination and hunting caused
a severe decline in its numbers. Although protected
by several laws, including the Endangered Species
Act, the bald eagle faced extinction. Finally, the
trends were reversed, the populations recovered,
and the bald eagle was officially removed from the
Endangered Species List in 1999. |
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Brown, L. and D. Amadon. Eagles, Hawks and Falcons
of the World. New Jersey: Wellfleet Press, 1989. |
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Lee, G.. "Bald Eeagle Soars Off Endangered
List". The Tampa Tribune, June 30,
1994.
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| Savage,
C.. Eagles of North America. Wisconsin: Northwood
Press, 1987. |
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| U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. "Bald Eagle:
Hope Flies to Freedom from Near". Hadley, Mass:
PR Newswire, June 30, 1994. |
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| http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/search/species_search.html |
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