“For nearly 250 years, we called the bald eagle the national bird when it wasn’t,” said Jack Davis, co-chair of the National ...

It simply slips a line into the U.S. code between the national tree and the guidelines for inaugural ceremonies that says, “The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is the national bird.” ...

But she didn’t. She was one of the lucky ones. Her assailants were bald eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus—or Dutch Harbor pigeons, as they’re known around this fishing port in the Aleutian ...

This story appears in the July 2016 issue of National Geographic magazine. Bald eagles, aka Haliaeetus leucocephalus, seem to be models of decorum. The raptors mate for life, unless one partner ...