The Sound of the Bald Eagle?

Did you know that virtually every time you see a mighty, soaring bald eagle on television or in the movies the echoing, majestic, screeching sound used by the studios is actually the screech of a red-tailed hawk?  It's true!  Hollywood has used the sound of the red-tailed hawk for so many birds of prey over the years that its sound has become a stereotype for all raptors. Here is the famous bird screech of the cinema.

Sound of The Red Tailed Hawk:

Remember the 1990s TV show Northern Exposure?  Although Alaska boasts nearly half of the population of the world's bald eagles, and relatively very few red-tailed hawks, the producers of this popular television show decided to use the sound of the lesser species as its opening trademark.

Perhaps one reason that the sound of the bald eagle is not used in television and movies is that the bald eagle doesn't usually screech.  As a matter of fact, when you see a soaring bald eagle towering over a canyon, swooping toward some carrion or scavenging after the dropped fresh-catch of an Osprey, chances are you'll never hear it.  The sound of a bald eagle is more like a squeak than a screech.  Here's a sample of the sound of the bald eagle.

Sound of The Bald Eagle:

As for Alaskan bald eagles, during three days in February 2007 set aside for the general public to count birds that they see in their yard, over 1500 bald eagles visited neighborhoods around the state and were counted in the Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by Cornell University and the Audubon society.  If over 1500 bald eagles were in plain view, just imagine how many there are all over the great state of Alaska.  In fact, scientists estimate that there are nearly 325,000 bald eagles in The Last Frontier of Alaska.  Maybe with that many bald eagles flying overhead, we're better off that they don't screech!