The American Bald Eagle Essay Research Paper

  • Просмотров 119
  • Скачиваний 5
  • Размер файла 14
    Кб

The American Bald Eagle Essay, Research Paper 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 are

warm-blooded and breathe oxygen from the air. A female will lay 1 to 3 eggs every five years, with at least 1hatching. Although all Bald Eagles are consumers, none of them eat plants to get their chemical energy. Some birds in the eagle community are African fish eagle, Stellerís sea eagle, white-bellied sea eagle and the palm-nut vulture. Bald eagles, out of all eagles are carnivores; they eat fish, there is no such thing as a herbivore or even an omnivore Eagle. The young of a bald eagle are fully fledged (just like their parents and ready to live in the world) at about the age of 4 months. After hatching, newborn eagles are all white and blind. Male bald eagles generally measure 3 feet from the end of the beak to the tip of the tail, weighing about 7 to 10 pounds, and having

a wing span of 6 feet. Females, some larger, reach about 14 pounds and have a wingspan of 8 feet. 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 whoever kills or tries to kill one will suffer a $500

fine and a year in jail. There are many biotic and abiotic factors in an eagles environment, but none compare to there love for salmon, and there passion for high altitude; whether it be them soaring and 10,000 feet, or them sitting in their nest on the top of an incredibly steep cliff.