Skip to main content Skip to navigation
Home
Today's Show: Where Birds Sleep
Two Mallard ducklings snoozing on a cement bank by the water, their beaks tucked beneath their wings
Listen In
  • Today's Show
  • Listen
    • BirdNote Daily
    • Bring Birds Back
    • Threatened
    • BirdNote Presents
    • Sound Escapes
    • How to Listen
  • Explore
    • Field Notes
    • Sights & Sounds
    • Birdwatching
    • Resources for Educators
  • How to Help Birds
    • At Home
    • In Your Community
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • The Team
    • Board Members
    • DEI/IDEA Commitment
    • Partners
    • For Radio Stations
    • Funding
    • FAQs
    • Support BirdNote
  • Donate

The Bald Eagle, A National Symbol

July 4, 2019
It was once called the Washington Eagle
Listen Now
Subscribe
  • Share This:
  • Share to Facebook
  • Share to Twitter
  • Share to Email
Bald Eagle perched on driftwood at the beach, in sunshine, it's head turned to the left in profile against a blue sky Expand Image
© Andy Morffew

Immature Bald Eagles look so different from mature Bald Eagles that John James Audubon thought they were a different species entirely! Sitting about three feet tall, these majestic birds have wingspans of more than six feet. Stretch your arms as far as you can, and imagine a bird whose reach is even greater!

  • Full Transcript
  • Credits

BirdNote®

Bald Eagle - National Symbol

Written by Frances Wood

This is BirdNote.

[Bald Eagle calling]

Look high into the top branches of a tall tree, and you may see the source of this call — a Bald Eagle.

[Bald Eagle calling]

Yes, that squeaky-door sound comes from the official bird of the United States of America. Sitting about three feet tall, this majestic bird has a wingspan of more than six feet. Stretch your arms as far as you can, and imagine a bird whose reach is even greater!

[Bald Eagle calling]

Mature Bald Eagles have snowy-white heads and tails and powerful, dark brown bodies. Their eyes, beaks and taloned feet are shades of bright orange and yellow.

Immature Bald Eagles, on the other hand, look so different that John James Audubon thought they were another species entirely. Young Bald Eagles are a patchwork of dark mottled colors, and their eyes, feet and beaks are drabber shades of gray, brown and yellow. It can take young eagles up to four years before they grow into their iconic adult colors.

Even with a call that sounds like a rusty gate, [Bald Eagle calling] the Bald Eagle is lord of the landscape.

[Pair of Bald Eagles calling]

Go eye to eye with a Bald Eagle when you come to our website, BirdNote.org.

I’m Michael Stein.

###

Producer: John Kessler

Managing Producer: Jason Saul

Editor: Ashley Ahearn

Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone

Assistant Producer: Mark Bramhill

Narrator: Michael Stein

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.  Recorded by J. Storm.

BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.

©2019 BirdNote July 2019

BAEA-01-2009-02-16             BAEA-01c
 

Frances Wood
Writer
Michael Stein
Narrator
Tags: raptor, North America

Related Resources

Learn more about the Bald Eagle at Cornell's All About Birds

More About These Birds

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Sights & Sounds

Birds connect us with the joy and wonder of nature. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world – and take steps to protect it.

Support BirdNote

  • About
  • Annual Report
  • Contact
  • Science Advisory Council
  • Pitch Page
  • Sights & Sounds
Sign up for our newsletter!
  • BirdNote on Facebook
  • BirdNote on Twitter
  • BirdNote on Instagram

Copyright 2022. All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy