The American bald eagle is no doubt an incredible animal, but why has the image of a white-headed bird soaring over a canyon in the West become so synonymous with the country’s values?

Find out more about this majestic symbol, and why the bird is so important to American history and culture!

Say what?

Bald eagles have us fooled! These birds aren’t actually born with those adorable white heads. Instead, baby bald eagles are actually brown, and only develop white plumage as they mature.

Nature’s love birds.

You might think of dove’s as the love birds of the animal kingdom, but like a few other avian species, bald eagles mate early on in life and remain with the same partner forever.

That’s a big crib.

Bald eagles would give a Kardashian a run for their money in house size—the largest next on record was more than 20 feet deep by 9 feet wide.

Watch out, Usain Bolt.

We need to get a bald eagle into the next Summer Olympics! While diving, these birds can reach speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour.

An American icon.

The adoption of the bald eagle as America’s national animal occurred in 1782, and it has remained a moniker of the country’s strength and power for more than two hundred years.