<P> The bald eagle is both the national bird and 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 extirpation 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 . </P> <P> The plumage of an adult bald eagle is evenly dark brown with a white head and tail . The tail is moderately long and slightly wedge - shaped . Males and females are identical in plumage coloration, but sexual dimorphism is evident in the species, in that females are 25% larger than males . The beak, feet and irises are bright yellow . The legs are feather - free, and the toes are short and powerful with large talons . The highly developed talon of the hind toe is used to pierce the vital areas of prey while it is held immobile by the front toes . The beak is large and hooked, with a yellow cere . The adult bald eagle is unmistakable in its native range . The closely related African fish eagle (H. vocifer) (from far outside the bald eagle's range) also has a brown body, white head and tail, but differs from the bald in having a white chest and black tip to the bill . </P> <P> The plumage of the immature is a dark brown overlaid with messy white streaking until the fifth (rarely fourth, very rarely third) year, when it reaches sexual maturity . Immature bald eagles are distinguishable from the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), the only other very large, non-vulturine bird in North America, in that the former has a larger, more protruding head with a larger beak, straighter edged wings which are held flat (not slightly raised) and with a stiffer wing beat and feathers which do not completely cover the legs . When seen well, the golden eagle is distinctive in plumage with a more solid warm brown color than an immature bald eagle, with a reddish - golden patch to its nape and (in immature birds) a highly contrasting set of white squares on the wing . Another distinguishing feature of the immature bald eagle over the mature bird is its black, yellow - tipped beak; the mature eagle has a fully yellow beak . </P> <P> The bald eagle has sometimes been considered the largest true raptor (accipitrid) in North America . The only larger species of raptor - like bird is the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus), a New World vulture which today is not generally considered a taxonomic ally of true accipitrids . However, the golden eagle, averaging 4.18 kg (9.2 lb) and 63 cm (25 in) in wing chord length in its American race (A. c. canadensis), is merely 455 g (1.003 lb) lighter in mean body mass and exceeds the bald eagle in mean wing chord length by around 3 cm (1.2 in). Additionally, the bald eagle's close cousins, the relatively longer - winged but shorter - tailed white - tailed eagle and the overall larger Steller's sea eagle (H. pelagicus), may, rarely, wander to coastal Alaska from Asia . </P>

When do bald eagles get their distinctive white head and tail feathers
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