9-inch Bald Eagle
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This 9-inch Bald Eagle carving was hand-crafted from solid Basswood. Adult Bald Eagles are readily identified by the white head and tail and large yellow bill. Juveniles are mostly dark and may be confused with juvenile Golden Eagles; compare the blotchy white on the under-wing coverts, axillaries, and tail with Golden Eagle's more sharply defined pattern; note also the Bald Eagle�s disproportionately large head and shorter tail. The neck is shorter and the tail longer than the White-tailed Eagle. Bald Eagles require four or five years to reach full adult plumage. Seen most often on seacoasts or near rivers and lakes, Bald Eagles feed mainly on fish in the breeding season and regularly on carrion and road kill in the winter, particularly in the southwest. The species nests primarily in tall trees or on cliffs. Bald Eagles are most abundant in Alaska, but common in the winter along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and fairly common in the Northwest. The banning of pesticides and intense recovery programs have increased the populations that had been seriously diminished in the East.
Reference
National Geographic Field Guide To The Birds of North America, Fifth Edition, Page 124
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