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Wildlife Guide · North America — Alaska, Canada, the contiguous United States and northern Mexico & Coasts, large lakes and major rivers

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) — family Accipitridae

A fish eagle that came back from about 400 pairs — and one of conservation's clearest wins.

Least Concern — recovered from near-extirpation in the contiguous United States
Bald eagle with white head and yellow beak on a pine branch

Image: AI-generated educational wildlife portrait — World Animal Rescue Network · AI visualisation, not a photograph

In brief

The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a large North American fish eagle that recovered from roughly 400 nesting pairs in the contiguous United States in the 1960s to tens of thousands today, after DDT was banned and legal protection was strengthened.

By the WARN Research & Conservation TeamChecked against IUCN Red List & CITES sourcesLast updated

The bald eagle is a large North American fish eagle, unmistakable as an adult with its white head and tail against a dark brown body. It is not bald: the name comes from an older sense of 'balde', meaning white. Its real significance is as a recovery story. By the early 1960s the population in the contiguous United States had fallen to a few hundred nesting pairs, driven down by shooting, habitat loss and above all DDT, which thinned eggshells so severely that eggs broke under the incubating parent. After DDT was banned and legal protection tightened, the population rebounded to tens of thousands of pairs. It remains one of the most cited demonstrations that removing a specific chemical cause can reverse a collapse.

~2 m

Wingspan of a large adult

~400

Nesting pairs left in the contiguous US in the early 1960s

5 years

Age at which the white head and tail appear

1 tonne

Weight the largest recorded nests have reached

Figures sourced from IUCN Red List — Haliaeetus leucocephalus, CITES Appendices .

Bald Eagle: Quick Facts

Vital statistics and key facts about the Bald Eagle
Wingspan 1.8–2.3 m
Weight 3–6.3 kg; females larger than males
Adult plumage Acquired at about 5 years
Diet Fish, carrion, waterfowl; steals from other birds
Nest Reused and enlarged yearly; largest recorded near 1 tonne
Key threat Lead poisoning from ammunition in carrion

Scientific Classification

Scientific classification of the Bald Eagle
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Aves
Order Accipitriformes
Family Accipitridae
Genus Haliaeetus
Species Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Conservation Status

IUCN Status
Least Concern
Population
Tens of thousands of nesting pairs across North America
Trend
Increasing
Assessed
2021
CITES
Appendix II

Delisted from the US Endangered Species Act in 2007 but still protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Did you know?

Bald eagles add to the same nest year after year; the largest on record weighed close to a tonne before the tree gave way.

Key Facts: Bald Eagle

  • Bald eagles are not bald — 'balde' is an old word for white.
  • Adults gain the white head and tail at about five years old; juveniles are mottled brown.
  • DDT thinned eggshells and was the principal cause of the mid-century collapse.
  • The US population fell to roughly 400 nesting pairs and has since recovered to tens of thousands.
  • They are opportunists: fish, carrion and food stolen from other birds all feature.
  • Lead poisoning from ammunition fragments in carrion remains a significant ongoing cause of death.

The DDT collapse

DDT applied across mid-twentieth-century North America washed into waterways, entered aquatic food chains and concentrated in fish-eating birds at the top. In eagles the breakdown product DDE interfered with calcium deposition, producing eggshells so thin they cracked under the weight of an incubating adult. Combined with shooting and the loss of large waterside nesting trees, the effect was catastrophic. The species was reduced to around 400 nesting pairs in the contiguous United States, while remaining relatively secure in Alaska and Canada.

How the recovery happened

Three things, in sequence: DDT was banned in the United States in 1972; legal protection was enforced under federal law; and nest sites were protected and birds reintroduced to areas where they had been lost. The response was rapid once eggshell thinning stopped. Numbers climbed through the following decades and the bald eagle was removed from the US endangered species list in 2007, remaining protected under separate eagle-specific legislation. Its IUCN status is Least Concern.

Hunting, scavenging and stealing

Bald eagles are primarily fish eaters, snatching prey from at or just below the surface with their feet. But they are unfussy opportunists: they scavenge carrion heavily, take waterfowl and small mammals, and routinely harass ospreys and other birds into dropping their catch. That kleptoparasitic habit was noted early. Benjamin Franklin's often-quoted disparagement of the bald eagle as a bird of 'bad moral character' referred precisely to this behaviour — though the story that he proposed the turkey as a national symbol instead is a later embellishment.

The threat that remains: lead

The modern problem is lead. Eagles scavenging carcasses and gut piles left by hunters ingest fragments of lead ammunition, which dissolve in the acidic stomach and cause acute poisoning. Studies across North America have found lead exposure in a large proportion of tested bald and golden eagles, with a measurable population-level effect on growth rates. The fix is well understood — non-lead ammunition — and uptake is rising but incomplete. Vehicle collisions at roadside carrion, electrocution on power infrastructure and disturbance at nest sites make up the remainder of the modern threat picture.

What WARN Does

WARN publishes free, sourced species education, including the cases where conservation demonstrably worked. The bald eagle shows that identifying a specific chemical cause and removing it can reverse a collapse — and that the follow-on threat, in this case lead ammunition, often needs the same treatment before recovery is complete.

If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.

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Bald Eagle: Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the bald eagle called bald?
Not because it lacks feathers. The name derives from an older English sense of 'balde' meaning white, describing the adult's white head against its dark brown body.

Are bald eagles still endangered?
No. The bald eagle was removed from the US endangered species list in 2007 after recovering from roughly 400 nesting pairs to tens of thousands, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern. It remains legally protected under eagle-specific US legislation.

What caused the bald eagle's decline?
Principally DDT. Its breakdown product DDE disrupted calcium deposition, so eggshells became thin enough to break under the incubating parent. Shooting and the loss of large waterside nesting trees compounded the collapse.

At what age do bald eagles get their white head?
About five years. Juveniles are mottled dark brown and white and are often mistaken for golden eagles or entirely different species until they acquire full adult plumage.

What is the biggest threat to bald eagles today?
Lead poisoning. Eagles scavenging carcasses and gut piles ingest fragments of lead ammunition, which dissolve in the stomach and cause acute poisoning. Non-lead ammunition solves it, and uptake is increasing but not universal.

What do bald eagles eat?
Bald eagles eat fish, carrion and waterfowl, and frequently steal kills from other birds. They are large North American fish eagles that recovered from roughly 400 nesting pairs in the contiguous United States in the early 1960s to tens of thousands today after DDT was banned and legal protection tightened.

Where do bald eagles live?
Bald eagles nest near lakes, rivers, coasts and wetlands across North America where fish and carrion are available. By the early 1960s the contiguous US population had fallen to a few hundred nesting pairs, driven down by shooting, habitat loss and DDT-thinned eggshells that broke under incubating parents.

Are bald eagles dangerous?
Bald eagles are powerful raptors with large talons but do not hunt people. They can defend a nest if approached too closely. Today their main hazard to humans is indirect — lead fragments in scavenged carrion poison eagles, and disturbance near nests can cause adults to abandon eggs.

How long do bald eagles live?
No reliable maximum lifespan figure is established for bald eagles. Adults acquire the white head and tail at about five years. The species' recovery story — from roughly 400 nesting pairs in the contiguous US in the 1960s to tens of thousands today — shows how removing a specific chemical cause can reverse a collapse.

How big is a bald eagle?
Bald eagles have a wingspan of 1.8–2.3 m and weigh 3–6.3 kg, with females larger than males according to this guide's quickFacts. A large adult's wingspan reaches about 2 m. Their reused nests are enlarged yearly; the largest recorded nest weighed near 1 tonne.

Sources & References

Population figures, conservation status and biological facts on this page are drawn from authoritative scientific and intergovernmental sources.

Terms used on this page

Plain-English definitions, from our wildlife and conservation glossary.

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