The Bald Eagle

Very recently I came across a Youtube live video feed of a Bald Eagle's nest up in Big Bear Valley in southern California. I live in southern California not far from there. My family and I have been watching the eaglets grow up. It is fascinating. As we watch, many questions come to our minds about these awesome raptors. I am a Zoology teacher so I am going to share some interesting information here.

Taxonomy is how biologists classify living organisms. There are 8 levels of classification from the most complex to the least complex. The categories are Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. The taxonomy levels tell us information about the organism in question. Let's examine the Bald Eagle's taxonomy.

Domain: Eukarya - The organisms in this domain have cells that have a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles
Kingdom: Animalia - Organisms are multicellular and have to eat to survive.
Phylum: Chordata - Organisms have a spinal chord.
Class: Aves - Skin covered with feathers, wings, warm-blooded, lay eggs, beaks or bills, walks on two legs
Order: Falconiformes - hooked bills, talons, opposable hind toes, meat-eaters, strong flyers
Family: Accipitridae - diurnal (active during the day), birds of prey
Genus: Haliaeetus - Sea Eagles, fish eaters
Species: The Bald Eagle

More to come about the bald eagle.