#3 Eagle

#3 Eagle

Common Name: Eagle (Bald Eagle)

Description:  

-White head and tail

-Piercing eyes (yellow)

-Chocolate-brown body and wings

-Two legs and yellow beak

-Endoskeleton

-Bilateral Symmetry

-Warm blooded

-Four chambered heart

-Hollow bones (for flight)

-Eagles are dominant predators and are known as birds of prey.

-Eagles feed off smaller birds, bats, mammals, and fish off the ground.

-The Eagle is well known for its incredible eyesight.

-Eagles have pointed beaks and agile feet known as talons. The beak is designed for ripping flesh away from bone, and the talons are so strong that the eagle is able to carry its prey in its feet, until it reaches a safe place.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Accipitriformes

Family: Accipitridae

Genus: Haliaeetus

Species: H. leucocephalus

Binomial name: Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Ecology:

-The Bald Eagle occupies a position at the top of the food chain. It feeds by swooping over land or over open water, and catches prey with its sharp curved talons. Also it eats dead animals (eagles are carnivores).

-The Eagle is believed to resemble power or good fortune.

-Can survive fasting for many days, even weeks.

-Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years.

-The Eagle can see three to four times farther than people.

-Owls prey upon young bald eagles.

-Bald Eagles have between 7000 and 7200 feathers.

-Flying Bald Eagles can reach speeds of about 75 miles (120 km) per hour.