American Bald Eagle vs Common Scale-backed Antbird

Haliaeetus leucocephalus compared with Willisornis poecilinotus

Key Differences

• American Bald Eagle is Not Evaluated while Common Scale-backed Antbird is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Bald Eagle	Common Scale-backed Antbird
Kingdom same	Animalia (hayvan)	Animalia (hayvan)
Phylum same	Chordata (Kordalılar)	Chordata (Kordalılar)
Class same	Aves (kuş)	Aves (kuş)
Order	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)	Passeriformes (Ötücü kuşlar)
Family	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Thamnophilidae
Genus	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)	Willisornis
Species	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Willisornis poecilinotus

Evolutionary Relationship

American Bald Eagle and Common Scale-backed Antbird share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (kuş)

Conservation Status

American Bald Eagle

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Common Scale-backed Antbird

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Bald Eagle	Common Scale-backed Antbird
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).

Common Scale-backed Antbird

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and 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.

Common Scale-backed Antbird

<em>Willisornis poecilinotus</em>, the common scale-backed antbird, is a passerine bird in the family Thamnophilidae, order Passeriformes, native to the tropical forests of northwestern South America. Its range encompasses parts of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, where it inhabits the dense understory of humid lowland and foothill rainforests. This species is typically found foraging close to the forest floor, often following army ant swarms to catch invertebrates flushed by the ants — a foraging strategy known as obligate or facultative ant-following. The common scale-backed antbird is sexually dimorphic; males display distinctive scaled patterning on the back while females typically show rufous-brown tones. The IUCN currently classifies <em>Willisornis poecilinotus</em> as Least Concern, reflecting a stable population within its forest habitat. However, continued deforestation in the Chocó and Amazonian foothills regions poses a longer-term concern for this and many forest-dependent species. Biological traits for this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature, including precise data on average lifespan, body dimensions, weight, and detailed dietary breakdown beyond its general insectivorous habits.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway