American Bald Eagle vs Butterfly ray

Haliaeetus leucocephalus compared with Gymnura poecilura

Key Differences

• American Bald Eagle is Not Evaluated while Butterfly ray is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Bald Eagle	Butterfly ray
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Elasmobranchii
Order	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)	Myliobatiformes (Myliobatiformes)
Family	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Gymnuridae
Genus	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)	Gymnura
Species	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Gymnura poecilura

Evolutionary Relationship

American Bald Eagle and Butterfly ray share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

American Bald Eagle

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Butterfly ray

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Bald Eagle	Butterfly ray
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	28 years	—
Average Length	90 cm	—
Average Weight	5.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

American Bald Eagle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 10 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (8 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Ecuador).

Butterfly ray

American Bald Eagle

The national bird of the United States and a symbol of American conservation success, bald eagles have a wingspan of up to 2.4 meters and inhabit forests and wetlands near open water across North America. Powerful aerial predators and scavengers, they specialize in fish but also take waterfowl and carrion. Nearly extinct by the 1960s due to DDT poisoning and hunting, the bald eagle recovered dramatically following pesticide bans and the Endangered Species Act.

Butterfly ray

The Butterfly ray (Gymnura poecilura) is a species in the genus Gymnura. It is currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.