So you think you’ve had a tough day?

Bald Eagle vs. Trumpeter Swan. Get the rest of the story here.

Speaking of bald eagles, I’ve been approached by total strangers who ask me why the bird is so named. “The whole head is covered in feathers, for cryin’ out loud!” they’ll complain. “How can that be called bald?” I guess I’m the target of such inquiries because of my long-standing experience with being follically-challenged.

Seriously folks, I have known for a long time that the “bald” in “bald eagle” is actually misspelled. When the bird was chosen to be America’s national symbol back in the 18th century, the word was spelled balde, which meant white-haired or white-maned. The only reference I could find on the Internet (after going one page deep in Google) is here and these people only refer to the spelling used in the 18th century without explaining any further. I’ll send them a link to this entry and set ’em straight. Now there’s a justification for for blogging!

Photo: Kelly Munday