Eagle is the common name for a diurnal (active during the day) bird of prey. The bald eagle is a member of the group known as "sea eagles". There are two subspecies of bald eagle: northern and southern. The southern species, Haliaetus leucocephalus leucocephalus , is present in Florida and along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, spreading west to Arizona, New Mexico, and California. In its first four years of life, an eagle is predominantly brown. By the fifth year, the head and tail have become all white. The average life span is unknown, but 30 years under natural conditions is a reasonable estimate.

The bird's common name doesn't refer to lack of feathers, it is actually derived from an obsolete word meaning "marked with white". It takes babies four or five years to acquire these markings. The bald eagle will prey on carrion but is also a skilled hunter. It also can frequently be seen harassing and stealing fish from osprey.

Eagles successfully rear one or two nestlings each season. After the young are fully grown and fledged, they remain near the nest while being fed by their parents. Because eagles need a large territorial range to raise young, habitat disturbances have threatened the species, even where regulations are strictly enforced.

The bald eagle has no known natural enemies except man. Contaminants, mainly DDT, greatly depleted the eagle population in the 1970's placing it on the endangered species list. The banning of DDT and other efforts has allowed the bald eagle to make a remarkable recovery and downlisting it to a threatened species.