American Bald Eagle vs Small Emerald Spreadwing

Haliaeetus leucocephalus compared with Lestes virens

Key Differences

• American Bald Eagle is Not Evaluated while Small Emerald Spreadwing is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Bald Eagle	Small Emerald Spreadwing
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)	Odonata (Odonata)
Family	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Lestidae
Genus	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)	Lestes
Species	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Lestes virens

Evolutionary Relationship

American Bald Eagle and Small Emerald Spreadwing share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

American Bald Eagle

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Small Emerald Spreadwing

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Bald Eagle	Small Emerald Spreadwing
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).

Small Emerald Spreadwing

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇪 Sweden