Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. Bald Eagle is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.
In the late 20th century the Bald Eagle was on the brink of extirpation in the continental United States, while flourishing in much of Alaska and Canada. Populations recovered and stabilised, so the species was removed from the U.S. federal government's list of endangered species and transferred to the list of threatened species on July 12, 1995, and it was removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the Lower 48 States on June 28, 2007.
Bald eagles are not actually bald, the name deriving from the older meaning of the word, "white headed".
The Bald Eagle is a powerful flier, and soars on thermal convection currents. It reaches speeds of 56–70 kilometers per hour when gliding and flapping, and about 48 kilometers per hour while carrying fish.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_Eagle - 09.10.2010
Bald Eagle
No wonder, that Eagles very often will be chosen as heraldic animals.