Owner Comments:
With the Bald Eagle (Species name Haliaeetus leucocephalus), we have another raptor and another baby dinosaur coin, keeping in theme with the two previous coins, but the Bald Eagle is a much different type of a predator than the Golden Eagle.
For starters, the Bald Eagle is a member of the Haliaeetus genus, which are the Sea Eagles. The Golden Eagle is an Aquila, or a true eagle. The Bald Eagle is, like most eagles, a rather large raptor with a wingspan that ranges from 5.9 to 7.5 feet, a length range from 28 to 40 inches and a weight range between 6.6 to 13.9 pounds. The "bald" in the Bald Eagle's name is from an archaic definition of the word meaning white headed rather than bare of integument, and was so named because of the striking white head found on adult specimens of the bird. The tail of adults is also bright white, while the body feathers are brown. Young Bald Eagles have what is sometimes described as a "messy" look to their plumage, being predominately brown with white streaking, gaining the white head and tail at maturity, at the age of five years. Though they can be confused for young Golden Eagles at a distance, young Bald Eagles have distinctive differences such as a legs which aren't fully feathered down to the feet, a stiffer wingbeat when flying and a black beak with a yellow tip, which turns yellow at maturity. The Bald Eagle has wide range within North America, the only continent it naturally inhabits. The Bald Eagle's habitat is along waterways with plenty of fish for prey and old growth trees for nesting.
As with most Sea Eagles, the majority of the Bald Eagle's diet is fish of various species. Fish comprises between 90 and 56 percent of the Bald Eagle's diet depending on the location of individual birds. Other prey items taken by Bald Eagles include waterbirds and aquatic mammals. The Bald Eagle is also a notorious kleptoparasite, always ready and willing to steal prey from other predators. The Bald Eagle, with its large size and ferocious nature, is capable of stealing kills from foxes, coyotes, bobcats, red-tailed hawks and peregrine falcons. They are also noted as being able to drive Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures away from carrion.
When the Bald Eagle is engaged in kleptoparasitism, it attacks the victim much more viciously than it would attack prey that it hunted and killed on its own and is typically very successful in driving the initial predator or predators away. Given that this behavior is a large part of Bald Eagle feeding strategy, it is nearly impossible to make a list of the various kinds of animals they may consume by stealing kills. On the other hand, Bald Eagles are dominated by Golden Eagles and bears in scavenging situations. Bald Eagles rarely try to steal kills from Golden Eagles as the Golden Eagle has a much stronger beak, is stronger on the ground and more aggressive than the Bald Eagle and can easily fight off a Bald Eagle attempting to steal a kill. Such a conflict would have a real chance of ending fatally for the Bald Eagle. However, bears are a different situation and Bald Eagles can steal food from bears occasionally if they're quick and catch the bear off-guard.
What they lack in size, ferocity and hunting prowess compared to the Golden Eagle is made up for by amazing flying strength. A Bald Eagle was sighted flying with a 15 pound deer fawn, the heaviest flying load ever verified for a flying bird of any species and an amazing feat, especially when the maximum weight of 13.9 pounds for a Bald Eagle is considered.
Like most raptors, Bald Eagles mate for life. They engage in spectacular aerobatic courtship displays, the most spectacular of which involves the mating pair locking talons and free-falling, separating right before hitting the ground. The Bald Eagle is female dominant like the Golden Eagle, but Golden Eagle female dominance is much more strict and violent. Bald Eagle mate selection rarely, if ever, results in violence between individuals. Bald Eagles also mate and nest earlier than all other North American raptors, with nest building or reinforcing taking place in February and egg laying taking place later in that same month. Most other raptors lay eggs in April or May, by comparison. Bald Eagles make huge nests which they use for many years. These nests can be 13 feet deep and weigh a metric ton, the largest tree nests known for any animal. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and caring for the young. At least one parent is present at the nest almost 100% of the time.
Bald Eagles have 1 to 3 chicks a year. They typically have two chicks, which can usually coexist but there are rare instances of the older chick killing the younger one. This is typically if the older chick is female as male chicks rarely, if ever, engage in siblicidal behavior. Like the Golden Eagle, and as the coin shows, the young are born fuzzy and helpless but Bald Eagle babies are grey rather than white. Typically, two chicks survive to fledge at between 8 and 14 weeks of age and they leave their parents about 6 weeks after fledging is completed. An interesting thing about Bald Eagles is that they will occasionally adopt the fledglings of other raptor species into their nests and raise them alongside their own chicks. The reasons for this fascinating behavior are, at the present time, unknown. But if my inspiration for this modern dinosaur set has taught me anything, it's that we never know what amazing answers are waiting just around the corner. Bald Eagles typically live for between 20 and 38 years in the wild. The oldest known Bald Eagle was a captive who made it to 50 years of age.
This coin in the modern dinosaur collection also has a unique distinction in depicting an actual, living animal and not just a general depiction of a member of the species. This eagle is Challenger, who is depicted in profile ( and looking very theropod-y by the way) on the reverse of this great coin. Challenger is a non-releasable male Bald Eagle in the care of the American Eagle Foundation who is also the first Bald Eagle trained to free fly at events.
And, stating the obvious, the Bald Eagle is the national bird (or national dinosaur as I prefer to think of it) of the United States. But if Benjamin Franklin had gotten his way, it would not have been. Franklin had real issues with the kleptoparasitic nature of this modern theropod and favored the Wild Turkey instead. I can see how Franklin would find this behavior less than noble, but nature is nature and living beings evolve behaviors for a reason. I personally feel that this dinosaur is doing what it evolved to do, and it exhibits the rather charming and endearing behavior of adopting chicks of other species and raising them as their own. One cannot apply morality to nature. No matter how one feels about its behavior, there is no doubt that the Bald Eagle is a fascinating and beautiful example of a living dinosaur.