Bald Eagle
PMF IAS Impact: 40 Direct Hits in Prelims 2024 and 53 Direct Hits in Prelims 2025!
- Context (BBC): The bald eagle was officially declared the US national bird.
- Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is not actually bald. It is named so because of its white-feathered head.
- Distribution: It is the only eagle solely native to North America.
- Habitat: It is a sea eagle (fish-eating eagle), and so it commonly occurs inland along rivers and lakes.
- It builds its nest in isolated trees or rocks located within easy flight of water. Both parents share in the incubation and feeding of the young.
- Threats: Intense hunting, unintentional poisonings (use of DDT and lead shot), habitat destruction, and loss of great herds of bison (a seasonally important food source).
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List: Least Concern | CITES: Appendix II
