American Bald Eagle vs Tawny-bellied Hermit

Haliaeetus leucocephalus compared with Phaethornis syrmatophorus

Key Differences

• American Bald Eagle is Not Evaluated while Tawny-bellied Hermit is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Bald Eagle	Tawny-bellied Hermit
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Trochilidae
Genus	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)	Phaethornis
Species	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Phaethornis syrmatophorus

Evolutionary Relationship

American Bald Eagle and Tawny-bellied Hermit share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

American Bald Eagle

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Tawny-bellied Hermit

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Bald Eagle	Tawny-bellied Hermit
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).

Tawny-bellied Hermit

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Norway.

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.

Tawny-bellied Hermit

A large hermit hummingbird of humid Andean foothill forests in Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, tawny-bellied hermits have warm tawny-buff underparts contrasting with greenish-bronze upper parts and a long, strongly curved bill. Found at elevations between 300–1,500 meters in montane forest understory. Like all large hermits, they are trap-line foragers visiting long routes of widely spaced flowers. Males assemble at traditional lek sites where they produce loud, repetitive vocalizations to attract females.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway