The bald eagle is a symbol of America. It is found on coins and banknotes, adorning the Great Seal and the inspiring conservation efforts that brought this species to fruition Back from the brink of extinction. Although it was first used as a national symbol more than 240 years ago, Congress never made it official.
That has changed Earlier this year. And on Christmas Eve, President Biden signed Legislation declaring the bald eagle the official national bird.
“For nearly 250 years, we have called the bald eagle the national bird, when it is not,” Jack Davis, co-chair of the National Eagle Center’s National Bird Initiative, said in a statement. “But now the title is official, and there is no bird more deserving of it.”
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It’s been a long road to Haliaetus leucocephaluswhich is the scientific name for the bald eagle, known for its striking white head and yellow beak atop its brown body. This bird is native to the United States, and it eats fish and carrion, but is also known to prey on livestock, according to the report. Fish and Wildlife Service – First declined due to loss of habitat and prey.
But it was the introduction of the pesticide DDT that contributed to the birds’ near disappearance in the 20th century. When the birds ate fish that had been exposed to the chemical, they laid eggs with weak shells. These eggs did not survive incubation, and numbers declined to just 417 nesting pairs by 1963, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
US DDT was banned in 1972 A few years later, bald eagles were declared endangered. Over the next few decades, the bald eagle The population recovered. By 2007, there were approximately 10,000 pairs of nesting eagles in the United States and bald eagles were removed from the endangered species list.
The Fish and Wildlife Service estimates the number of bald eagles in recent years in the hundreds of thousands. In recent years, bald eagles have fascinated me Birdwatchers in the heart of New York CityEagle cameras have appeared in The National Arboretum in Washington, DCin United States Steel in Pennsylvania and In Great Bear Valley, California.
the legislation Designating the bald eagle as the national bird of the United States Led by Minnesota legislators. The country is home to what She described Senator Amy Klobuchar As one of the largest bald eagle populations in the country.
