Bald Eagle (American Eagle)

The Bald Eagle is a majestic bird of prey instantly recognizable by its striking white head and tail contrasting with a dark brown body and wings. Measuring up to 3 feet in length with a wingspan exceeding 7 feet, it is a powerful apex predator. Its flight is characterized by slow, powerful wingbeats and soaring on flat wings.

Striking and bicolored, featuring a deep, dark brownish-black distal portion and a crisp, clean white proximal portion. The rachis transitions from dark to white corresponding to the vane color.

Tightly interlocked pennaceous vane with strong hooklets creating a waterproof and wind-resistant surface. The basal portion shows slightly looser, semiplumaceous barbs.

Stiff, smooth, and semi-glossy on the dark upper surface, with a durable, rigid texture designed to endure friction and high-velocity air currents.

Sharp bicolored pattern of solid dark brown/black sharply contrasting with pure white on a large, robust, highly asymmetrical flight feather.

Found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting, including lakes, reservoirs, rivers, coasts, and marshes.

North America, ranging from Alaska and Canada down through the United States to northern Mexico, with populations in Northwest Arkansas being year-round residents or winter visitors.

Acts as an apex predator and scavenger in aquatic ecosystems, helping maintain the health and balance of fish and waterfowl populations.

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), whose flight feathers are generally uniformly dark brown without the crisp, extensive white base found in adult Bald Eagle primaries.

Bald Eagles build the largest tree nests recorded for any animal, some being reused and added to for decades, eventually weighing up to several tons.

Good condition with minor wear and slight fraying at the extreme tip, indicating normal usage and natural molting rather than physical trauma.

NW Arkansas