What bird is the national symbol of the United States?

The bald eagle is the national symbol of the United States and appears at the centre of the Great Seal. The Continental Congress adopted the seal’s eagle design on June 20, 1782, making the bird a powerful emblem of the new republic.

The species, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, is a North American sea eagle that usually lives near open water and feeds heavily on fish. Adults have dark brown bodies with distinctive white heads and tails. “Bald” comes from an older word meaning white-headed, not hairless.

The wild turkey was never officially selected as the national bird, despite a popular story involving Benjamin Franklin. The bald eagle later suffered severe population declines from hunting, habitat loss, and DDT, but legal protection and the pesticide ban helped it recover. Congress formally designated it the national bird in 2024.