IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Haliaeetus leucocephalus

BirdLife International (BirdLife International)

Jump to Bald Eagle: In detail

Translate page

$Haliaeetus leucocephalus$

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Abstract

Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus has most recently been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2016. Haliaeetus leucocephalus is listed as Least Concern.

The Red list Assessmenti

BirdLife International. 2016. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22695144A93492523. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695144A93492523.en. Accessed on 27 December 2022.

Last assessed

01 October 2016

Scope of assessment

Global

Population trend

Increasing

Number of mature individuals

Habitat and ecology

Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Wetlands (inland), Marine Neritic, Marine Intertidal, Artificial/Aquatic & Marine

Geographic range

BirdLife International and Handbook of the Birds of the World (2016) 2013. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2

Taxonomy

Taxonomy in detail

Scientific name

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Authority

(Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms

Common names

English

Bald Eagle

Taxonomic sources

del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: #http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of _the_WP15.xls#.

Identification Information

Taxonomic notes

Assessment Information

IUCN Red List Category and Criteria

Least Concern

ver 3.1

Date assessed

01 October 2016

Year published

2016

Assessment Information in detail

Year last seen

Previously published Red List assessments

Regional assessments

Assessor(s)

BirdLife International

Reviewer(s)

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor(s)

Facilitator(s) / Compiler(s)

Stattersfield, A.

Partner(s) / Institution(s)

Authority / Authorities

IUCN SSC Bird Red List Authority (BirdLife International)

Justification

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Geographic Range

Native

Extant (resident)

Canada; Mexico; Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Extant (breeding)

United States

Extant & Vagrant

Belize; Bermuda; Ireland; Puerto Rico; Russian Federation (Eastern Asian Russia); Virgin Islands, U.S.

Number of locations

Upper elevation limit

2,000 metres

Lower elevation limit

Upper depth limit

Lower depth limit

Geographic Range in detail

Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) (km²)

Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO)

Unknown

Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO)

Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) (km²)

23300000

Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO)

Unknown

Extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence (EOO)

Continuing decline in number of locations

Unknown

Extreme fluctuations in the number of locations

Range Description

This species breeds in Canada, USA, Mexico, and the French island territories of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. It is considered a vagrant in Belize, Bermuda, Ireland, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

Population

Current population trend

Increasing

Number of mature individuals

Population severely fragmented

Continuing decline of mature individuals

Unknown

Population in detail

Extreme fluctuations

No. of subpopulations

Continuing decline in subpopulations

Unknown

Extreme fluctuations in subpopulations

All individuals in one subpopulation

No. of individuals in largest subpopulation

Description

(Rich et al. 2004)

Trend Justification: This species has undergone a large and statistically significant increase over the last 40 years in North America (779% increase over 40 years, equating to a 72.2% increase per decade; data from Breeding Bird Survey and/or Christmas Bird Count: Butcher and Niven 2007).

Habitat and Ecology

System

Terrestrial

Freshwater (=Inland waters)

Marine

Habitat type

Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Wetlands (inland), Marine Neritic, Marine Intertidal, Artificial/Aquatic & Marine

Generation length (years)

17.2 years

Congregatory

Movement patterns

Full Migrant

Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat

Unknown

Habitat and Ecology in detail

Habitat and Ecology

Classification scheme

Habitats		Season	Suitability	Major importance
1. Forest	1.1. Forest - Boreal	breeding	Suitable	No
	1.4. Forest - Temperate	breeding	Suitable	No
	1.7. Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level	non-breeding	Suitable	No
3. Shrubland	3.4. Shrubland - Temperate	non-breeding	Suitable	No
4. Grassland	4.4. Grassland - Temperate	non-breeding	Suitable	No
5. Wetlands (inland)	5.1. Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	non-breeding	Suitable	Yes
	5.5. Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	breeding	Suitable	No
9. Marine Neritic	9.10. Marine Neritic - Estuaries	non-breeding	Suitable	No
12. Marine Intertidal	12.1. Marine Intertidal - Rocky Shoreline	non-breeding	Suitable	No
	12.2. Marine Intertidal - Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	breeding	Suitable	No
	12.3. Marine Intertidal - Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	non-breeding	Suitable	No
	12.6. Marine Intertidal - Tidepools	non-breeding	Suitable	No
15. Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	15.1. Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha)	breeding	Suitable	No

Threats

Threats in detail

Threats

Past declines have been attributed to intense hunting, unintentional poisonings (notably use of DDT and lead shot), and habitat destruction in combination with the loss of great herds of bison, a seasonally important food source.

Classification scheme

Threats			Timing	Stresses	Scope	Severity	Invasive species	Virus

Use and Trade

Pets/display animals, horticulture

Local: ✘

National: ✘

International: ✔

Use and Trade in detail

Use and Trade

Conservation Actions

In-place research and monitoring

Action Recovery Plan : No
Systematic monitoring scheme : Yes

In-place land/water protection

Conservation sites identified : Yes, over entire range
Occurs in at least one protected area : Yes
Invasive species control or prevention : No

In-place species management

Successfully reintroduced or introduced benignly : No
Subject to ex-situ conservation : No

In-place education

Subject to recent education and awareness programmes : No
Included in international legislation : Yes
Subject to any international management / trade controls : Yes

Conservation Actions in detail

Conservation Actions

Conservation actions classification scheme

Conservation Actions Needed			Notes

Research classification scheme

Research Needed			Notes

Bibliography

Red List Bibliography

Blood, D. A.; Anweiler, G. G. 1994. Status of the bald eagle in British Columbia. Wildlife Branch, Ministry of Environment, Lands & Parks, British Columbia.

del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. 1994. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 2: New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Ferguson-Lees, J. and Christie, D.A. 2001. Raptors of the world. Christopher Helm, London.

IUCN. 2016. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016-3. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 07 December 2016).

Kirk, D. A.; Hussell, D.; Dunn, E. 1995. Raptor population status and trends in Canada. Bird Trends 4: 2-9.

Rich, T.D., Beardmore, C.J., Berlanga, H., Blancher, P.J., Bradstreet, M.S.W., Butcher, G.S., Demarest, D.W., Dunn, E.H., Hunter, W.C., Inigo-Elias, E.E., Martell, A.M., Panjabi, A.O., Pashley, D.N., Rosenberg, K.V., Rustay, C.M., Wendt, J.S. and Will, T.C. 2004. Partners in flight: North American landbird conservation plan. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY.

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1999. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants: proposed rule to remove the bald eagle in the lower 48 states from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife. Federal Register 64(128): 36454-36464.

External Data

Images and External Links

Images and External Links in detail

iNaturalist.org observations

Search sites for species

GBIF - Global Biodiversity Information Facility

WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species

CITES Legislation from Species+

Data Source

The information below is from the Species+ website.

CITES Legislation from Species+ in detail

Studies and Actions from Conservation Evidence

Data Source

The information below is from the Conservation Evidence website.

Studies and Actions from Conservation Evidence in detail

The Red list Assessmenti

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Scientific name

Authority

Synonyms

Common names

English

Taxonomic sources

Identification Information

Taxonomic notes

Assessment Information

IUCN Red List Category and Criteria

Date assessed

Year published

Year last seen

Previously published Red List assessments

Regional assessments

Assessor(s)

Reviewer(s)

Contributor(s)

Facilitator(s) / Compiler(s)

Partner(s) / Institution(s)

Authority / Authorities

Justification

Geographic Range

Native

Extant (resident)

Extant (breeding)

Extant & Vagrant

Number of locations

Upper elevation limit

Lower elevation limit

Upper depth limit

Lower depth limit

Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) (km²)

Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO)

Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO)

Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) (km²)

Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO)

Extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence (EOO)

Continuing decline in number of locations

Extreme fluctuations in the number of locations

Range Description

Population

Current population trend

Number of mature individuals

Population severely fragmented

Continuing decline of mature individuals

Extreme fluctuations

No. of subpopulations

Continuing decline in subpopulations

Extreme fluctuations in subpopulations

All individuals in one subpopulation

No. of individuals in largest subpopulation

Description

Habitat and Ecology

System

Habitat type

Generation length (years)

Congregatory

Movement patterns

Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat

Habitat and Ecology

Classification scheme

Threats

Threats

Classification scheme

Use and Trade

Pets/display animals, horticulture

Use and Trade

Conservation Actions

In-place research and monitoring

In-place land/water protection

In-place species management