American Bald Eagle vs Cotton Thistle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus compared with Onopordum acanthium

Key Differences

American Bald Eagle is Not Evaluated while Cotton Thistle is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Bald Eagle	Cotton Thistle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)	Onopordum
Species	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Onopordum acanthium

Conservation Status

American Bald Eagle

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Cotton Thistle

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Bald Eagle	Cotton Thistle
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).

Cotton Thistle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, tundra, and tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, among 10 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Georgia, India, Japan), Europe (22 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.