• The distinctive white head and tail feathers appear only after the bird is 4 to 5 years old.
• Bald eagles mate for life. Average life span is 30 years.
• They build nests in the tops of large trees near rivers, lakes, marshes or other wetland areas.
• Bald eagles normally lay two to three eggs once a year. The eggs hatch after 35 days, and the young eagles fly within three months.
• The bald eagle's diet mainly consists of fish, but they will feed on almost anything they can catch, including ducks, rodents and snakes.
• By the early 1960s, there were fewer than 450 bald eagle nesting pairs in the lower 48 states. In 1967, bald eagles were officially declared an endangered species in all areas of the United States south of the 40th parallel.
• The greatest threat to the bald eagle's existence arose from widespread use of DDT and other pesticides after World War II.
• Using a captive colony of breeding bald eagles, improving habitat and banning DDT helped the eagle make its comeback. From fewer than 450 nesting pairs, there are now more than 4,000 adult bald eagle nesting pairs in the United States.