American Bald Eagle vs Tufted Duck

Haliaeetus leucocephalus compared with Aythya fuligula

Key Differences

• American Bald Eagle is Not Evaluated while Tufted Duck is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Bald Eagle	Tufted Duck
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)	Anseriformes (Anseriformes)
Family	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Anatidae
Genus	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)	Aythya
Species	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Aythya fuligula

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

American Bald Eagle

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Tufted Duck

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Bald Eagle	Tufted Duck
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).

Tufted Duck

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), and North America (United States).

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.

Tufted Duck

Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

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