白头海雕 vs Clover Dodder

Haliaeetus leucocephalus compared with Cuscuta epithymum

Key Differences

白头海雕 is Not Evaluated while Clover Dodder is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	白头海雕	Clover Dodder
Kingdom	Animalia (动物界)	Plantae (植物)
Phylum	Chordata (脊索动物门)	Magnoliophyta (木兰植物门)
Class	Aves (鳥綱)	Magnoliopsida (木兰纲)
Order	Accipitriformes (鷹形目)	Solanales (茄目)
Family	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Convolvulaceae
Genus	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)	Cuscuta
Species	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Cuscuta epithymum

Conservation Status

白头海雕

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Clover Dodder

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	白头海雕	Clover Dodder
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	28 years	—
Average Length	90 cm	—
Average Weight	5.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

白头海雕

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).

Clover Dodder

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, montane grasslands and shrublands, and Mediterranean forests and woodlands, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (9 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Argentina, Venezuela). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

白头海雕

白头海雕是美国国鸟，也是美国生态保护史上的成功案例，曾因滴滴涕（DDT）的广泛使用而濒临灭绝，经保护措施的实施后种群数量已显著恢复。该物种在IUCN红色名录中被评估为无危（LC），以白色头颈和尾羽与深棕色体羽形成的鲜明对比为主要识别特征。它们主要以鱼类为食，也会捕食哺乳动物和腐肉。

Clover Dodder

Clover dodder (Cuscuta epithymum) is a parasitic flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae, a leafless, twining vine that obtains all its water and nutrients from host plants via haustoria — specialized penetrating organs that connect to host vascular tissue. The species is almost entirely dependent on its hosts throughout its life, with only brief photosynthetic activity during germination before establishing parasitic connections. C. epithymum parasitizes a wide range of host species including clover (Trifolium), gorse (Ulex), heathers (Erica, Calluna), thyme (Thymus), and other plants in open heathland, grassland, and scrub habitats. The stems are thread-like, yellowish-pink or reddish, and support clusters of small white to pale pink flowers. Originally widespread across Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the Americas, the species has declined significantly in many parts of its range due to agricultural intensification, herbicide application, grassland conversion, and loss of semi-natural heathlands. It is currently listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, reflecting population decline across its European core range. Conservation of C. epithymum requires the maintenance of unimproved, low-nutrient grasslands and heathlands that support its diverse host plant communities. The species is recorded from Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America, though populations in some regions represent introductions associated with contaminated legume seed lots.