Americas national bird is the only eagle unique to North America. The name bald comes from an old English word — piebald — which meant “white headed" rather than hairless. The bald eagle's scientific name Haliaeetus leucocephalus signifies a sea (halo) eagle (aeetos) with a white (leukos) head. The bald eagle is a sea or fish eagle. They flourish along the northwest coast of North America in part because of the salmon. Dead or dying fish are an important food source for all bald eagles.