How fast can an American bald eagle fly?

The bald eagle is a powerful flier, and soars on thermal convection currents, a cloud of rising air in the lower altitudes of earth's atmosphere. An eagle can reach a speed of 56-70 km/h (35-43 mph) when gliding and flapping and over 161 km/h (100 mph) when diving.

The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, by swooping down and snatching the fish from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests recorded for any animal species, up to 4m (13 feet) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide, and 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) in weight.

Bald eagles are not actually bald. Their name derives from an older meaning of the word, "white headed". The adult is mainly born with a white head and tail. Females are about 25% larger than males. The bald eagle is both the national bird and the national animal of the United States of America. The bald eagle appears on its seal.

In the late 20th century it was on the brink of extinction in the contiguous United States. Populations have since recovered and the species was removed from the U.S. government's list of endangered species on July 12, 1995 and transferred to the list of threatened species. It was removed from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife in the lower 48 States on June 28, 2007.