Listen to the bald eagle
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the bald eagle
The bald eagle is a bird in the family Accipitridae (order Accipitriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 2.3 m and weigh around 4.1 kg.
What does the bald eagle sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
From Wikipedia
The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), which occupies the same niche as the bald eagle in the Palearctic. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.
The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder that subsists mainly on fish, upon which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide, and 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) in weight. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years.
Related birds in the genus Haliaeetus
More from the family Accipitridae
Golden eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
Eurasian sparrowhawk
Accipiter nisus
Eurasian goshawk
Astur gentilis
Black kite
Milvus migrans
Common buzzard
Buteo buteo
Eurasian griffon vulture
Gyps fulvus
Red kite
Milvus milvus
Hen harrier
Circus cyaneus
Short-toed snake eagle
Circaetus gallicus
Booted eagle
Hieraaetus pennatus
Bonelli's eagle
Aquila fasciata
Frequently asked questions
What does a bald eagle sound like?
You can hear 2 recordings of the bald eagle on this page. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the bald eagle endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the bald eagle as “least concern”.
What family does the bald eagle belong to?
The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.
Sources & credits
- Bald Eagle Yellowstone National Park by National Park Service – Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- Bald Eagle – US National Park Service by NPS – Public domain (NPS) · NPS
- Wikidata Q127216 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Bald eagle – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Andy Morffew from Itchen Abbas, Hampshire, UK – CC BY 2.0