Bald Eagle - Species Profile
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List
LC - Least Concern
NatureServe
N5B, N5N - Secure Breeding and Nonbreeding
S3B, S3N - Vulnerable Breeding, Vulnerable Nonbreeding
Minnesota
Delisted
In 1973 there were estimated to be just 149 nesting pairs of Bald Eagles in Minnesota. In 1984, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) listed it as Threatened. The species has made a dramatic recovery, and in 1996 the DNR downgraded the listing to Special Concern. On August 19, 2013, it was removed from the list, but location records continue to be maintained by the DNR.
United States
On June 14, 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a ban on the use of DDT in the United States. The reason for the ban, according to William D. Ruckelshaus, Administrator of the EPA, was “the continued massive use of DDT posed unacceptable risks to the environment and potential harm to human health.” The ban took effect on December 31, 1972.
On June 28, 2007, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced the removal of the Bald Eagle from the list of threatened and endangered species. It is still federally protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
Description
Size
Total length: 30″ to 40″ (76 to 102 cm)
Wingspan: 80″ to 88″ (203 to 224 cm)
Voice
Similar Species
Habitat
Large lakes and rivers
Ecology
Migration
Mid-February to April and late August to late December
Nesting
Diet
Distribution
Occurrence
Common migrant, uncommon and local breeder
Maps
The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map
Taxonomy
Class
Aves (Birds)
Order
Accipitriformes (Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies)
Family
Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites)
Subfamily
Accipitrinae
Genus
Haliaeetus (Northern Sea-Eagles and Fish-Eagles)
Subordinate Taxa
Northern Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus washingtoniensis) 
Southern Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus)
Synonyms
Falco leucocephalus
