The image of an eagle is on the US President's flag, and on the one-dollar bill. The bald eagle is a large, powerful, brown bird with a white head and tail. The term "bald" does not mean that this bird lacks feathers. Instead, it comes from the old word piebald, that means, "marked with white".

　　美國總統印章和一美元幣上都有白頭鷹(The bald eagle)的形象。白頭鷹體形很大，動作有力，羽毛呈灰色，腦袋和尾巴呈白色。白頭鷹英文名字中的 "bald"並不是指它沒有羽毛。追根溯源，這個詞其實來自一個舊詞 "piebald"，意思是“黑白相間的”。

　　The US declared that the eagle was its national bird in 1782. It was chosen because of "its long life, great strength, and noble looks".

　　1782年，美國宣布白頭鷹為國鳥。它之所以能夠入選，是因為它“長久的生命力、不凡的力量和高貴的‘容貌’。”

　　A few eagles have even become American heroes. An eagle named "Old Abe", the mascot of a Wisconsin troop of soldiers during the Civil War, travelled 14,000 miles with its men. He was often shot at by the enemy, but survived 42 battles. 　

　　有一些白頭鷹甚至成為了美國的英雄。一隻名叫“老阿比”的白頭鷹是美國內戰時期威斯康星州一支部隊的福星。它跟隨這支部隊轉戰14000英裏，經曆42場戰役。敵軍經常向它射擊，但它最終卻“全身而退”。

　　富蘭克林認為白頭鷹品質惡劣

　　But, one of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin didn't agree with the choice. "The bald eagle...is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by robbing, he is generally poor, and often very messy" he argued. Franklin wanted the turkey as the country's national bird.

　　不過，美國開國元勳之一本傑明-富蘭克林不讚成把白頭鷹作為美國的象征。他說：“白頭鷹……品質惡劣；就像那些依靠搶劫過活的人一樣，它窮困潦倒，肮髒不堪。” 富蘭克林想把火雞作為美國的國鳥