Here are ten Independence Day items of trivia about the Bald Eagle. Test your family’s knowledge about:

  1. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson served on the committee that picked the eagle for the national seal [Franklin wanted the turkey].
  2. Bald Eagles have few natural enemies and live only in North America.
  3. Bald Eagles get their white head and tail feathers about 4-5 years of age.
  4. Bald Eagles are not, and never were, bald. The term comes from when “bald” meant “white-headed.”
  5. Their maximum speed: 40 mph or over 100 mph while in a dive.
  6. They can lift roughly half their body weight.
  7. The Bald Eagle is no longer considered endangered, and now only threatened.
  8. The only other kind of eagle in North America is the Golden Eagle.
  9. Bald Eagles mate for life, but if one dies, the survivor will accept a new mate.
  10. It is a felony to shoot an eagle.