Bald Eagle Coloring Page

This bald eagle coloring page catches the bird in full glide over a mountain lake. Its wings stretch nearly from one side of the page to the other, and every long feather at the wing tip has its own shape. Below it are pine trees, snowy peaks and a small nest high in a dead tree.

The eagle's yellow feet hang ready, and a fish jumps in the water far below. Will it catch that fish? That is for your child to decide. This page fits ages 6 to 12 and takes about 35 minutes.

Bald eagle coloring page colors: dark body, white head

Most kids know the look, and that makes this an easy color plan. Use dark brown on the body and wings. Add white on the head and the tail, which here means leaving the paper bare. The beak, feet and eye ring go bright yellow.

Dark brown crayon can get heavy, so try this. Color each wing feather in a medium brown, then darken only the part that sits next to the body. The tips stay lighter, and the wing looks like it has some depth. For a white head to show up, make the sky behind it a clear blue.

Mountains can be gray and purple, with snow left white. Add some of that purple to the lake as well, close to the shore, since water takes on the colors around it.

Getting the feathers right

• Follow the direction of each feather with your strokes, from the body out to the tip.
• Leave a thin bit of paper between feathers so the shapes stay clear.
• Do the head last, and keep a clean sheet under your hand to stop brown smudges.
• Press lightly on the far pines to push them back into the distance.

Real numbers on America's national bird

Bald eagles are big. Really big. A typical wingspan runs up to about seven and a half feet, wider than most grown ups are tall. Females are larger than males. Young eagles are mostly brown, and they only get their white head after several years.

The bird was chosen as a national emblem in 1782, when it went on the Great Seal. Oddly, it was not made the official national bird until a law was signed in December 2024. That story and more are in this article on the bald eagle. It also explains how close the eagle came to dying out in the lower states before it made a strong comeback.

Your kids may like hearing that those huge nests get used again and again. A pair keeps adding sticks each year. The pile just grows.

Keep that in mind as you color the nest in the dead tree. A bald eagle coloring page with a messy pile of brown and gray sticks looks far more real than one with a neat bowl shape.

Measure a wingspan

Here is a good activity for a hallway or driveway. Use a tape measure to mark seven and a half feet, then have your child lie down along it. How many kids would it take to match one eagle? Lay out string so they can see it, and tape the colored page at the end of the line.

In class, this bird makes a simple start for a report. Ask students for three facts, a home range and one reason the eagle was in danger. Those facts fit nicely on the back of the page.

Stay outdoors with these pages

For other American symbols, try our flag with 50 stars. Kids who love birds may also want the bird nest page. The full holiday set is in our patriotic coloring collection.

Questions