The bald eagle
+
bald eagle:
águila calva
is the national emblem of the United States. It appears in many government institutions and on official documents, as well as on the president’s flag
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flag:
bandera
, military insignia and billions of one-dollar bills
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bills:
billetes
. However, not everyone was happy about its choice
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choice:
elección
as America’s national bird. 18th-century statesman Benjamin Franklin preferred the turkey
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turkey:
pavo
, believing the bald eagle to be “a bird of bad moral character”.
DISTINCTIVE STYLE The bald eagle is the only eagle native to North America. It is strikingly
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strikingly:
sorprendentemente
colourful, with a yellow beak
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beak:
pico
and eyes and a white head and tail
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tail:
cola
that contrast with the rest of its dark-brown feathered
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feathered:
cubierto de plumas
body. It is not born this way: eaglets
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eaglets:
aguiluchos
have a brown beak, eyes and feathers, but their colours change at the age of four or five. The bald eagle is covered in feathers and not actually bald! The origins of the name are uncertain, but possibly derived from an old English word ‘balde’ meaning white and referring to its head.
TOP PREDATOR Eagles are apex predators
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apex predators:
depredadores alfa
. This means they are at the very top of the food chain
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food chain:
cadena alimentaria
, and have no natural predators to threaten
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to threaten:
amenazar
them. They have very sharp
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sharp:
aguda
eyesight and can see prey
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prey:
presas
from up to two miles away. They scan lakes and rivers for fish swimming near the surface, then zoom down
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to zoom down:
bajar zumbando
to grab
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to grab:
agarrar
them with their talons
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talons:
garras
.
HISTORY The bald eagle has been a symbol of America since the 18th century. On 4 July 1776, the Thirteen Colonies voted to declare America independent from Great Britain. It was decided that they needed an official seal
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seal:
sello
as a symbol of the country’s “supreme power and authority.” For six years, members of Congress argued
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to argue:
argumentar
over what it should be. Finally, in 1782, the bald eagle was chosen.
NATIVE AMERICA Eagles are believed to be sacred by many Native American cultures and are said to carry messages between humans and the Creator. Numerous tribes use bald eagle feathers in spiritual ceremonies, to decorate traditional costumes
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costumes:
vestidos
or for healing
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healing:
curación
or purification purposes
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purposes:
propósitos
. In the US, wildlife laws prohibit possessing or selling bald eagle feathers or other parts, but a special law called the eagle feather law makes an exception for their use in Native American spiritual practices.
SURVIVAL In 1940, US Congress passed a law
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passed a law:
aprobar una ley
that made it illegal to kill bald eagles. However, overhunting
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overhunting:
cazar en exceso
and habitat loss
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loss:
pérdida
led to a critical decline in their population. The main culprit
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culprit:
culpable
was DDT, a pesticide that was banned
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to ban:
prohibir
in 1973. Between 1978 and 1995 the bald eagle was listed
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to list:
calificar
as an endangered species. Today, the population has recovered
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to recover:
recuperar
and this magnificent bird of prey
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bird of prey:
ave rapaz
is no longer under threat.
the us seal It displays a bald eagle with a shield
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shield:
escudo
of thirteen red and white stripes
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stripes:
barras
covering the bird’s breast. In its right talon, the eagle holds an olive branch
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olive branch:
rama de olivo
, in its left a bundle
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bundle:
manojo
of thirteen arrows
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arrows:
flechas
, and in its beak it carries a scroll
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scroll:
pergamino
bearing the words: “E Pluribus Unum” (meaning “One out of many”).
