American Bald Eagle vs Duck Hawk

Haliaeetus leucocephalus compared with Falco peregrinus

Key Differences

• American Bald Eagle is Not Evaluated while Duck Hawk is Least Concern.
• American Bald Eagle is 5.0x heavier than Duck Hawk.
• American Bald Eagle lives longer (28 years vs 15 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Bald Eagle	Duck Hawk
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)	Falconiformes (Falconiformes)
Family	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Falconidae
Genus	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)	Falco
Species	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Falco peregrinus

Evolutionary Relationship

American Bald Eagle and Duck Hawk share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

American Bald Eagle

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Duck Hawk

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~140.0K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Bald Eagle	Duck Hawk
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	28 years	15 years
Average Length	90 cm	48 cm
Average Weight	5.0 kg	1.0 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).

Duck Hawk

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

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.

Duck Hawk

The fastest animal on the planet, peregrine falcons achieve aerial dive speeds exceeding 320 km/h when stooping on prey, stunning or killing birds in flight with a blow from their feet. Found on every continent except Antarctica in diverse habitats from Arctic tundra to tropical rainforest. Nearly extinct in North America and Europe from DDT poisoning in the 1960s–70s, peregrines recovered dramatically following pesticide bans and successful urban nesting programs.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States