What Does a Bald Eagle Sound Like? The Hollywood Myth

What a real bald eagle sounds like

The bald eagle has two main types of call. Neither matches its powerful appearance.

• The chatter or chirp: a series of thin, high notes, often written as kleek kik ik ik ik. It sounds like a fast giggle or twitter and is the call you are most likely to hear.
• The peal call: a longer, louder series of whistled notes that rises and falls, given with the head thrown back. Mates use it around the nest and in courtship, and adults use it toward intruding eagles.

Both sexes call, and pairs often call back and forth while perched together. Young eagles in the nest and recently fledged juveniles give harsher, whining begging calls that can go on for long periods when they are hungry.

Bald eagle calls can carry well over water and are often the first sign of eagles at a winter roost or a busy salmon river. They simply do not sound fierce.

The Hollywood eagle scream is a hawk

Watch almost any film, TV show or commercial that features a soaring bald eagle and you will probably hear a long, harsh scream. That sound belongs to the red-tailed hawk, North America’s most common large hawk.

The red-tailed hawk’s call is a two- to three-second hoarse, rasping scream that starts high and slurs downward, usually written as kee-eeeee-arr. It is loud, wild and instantly recognizable, so sound designers use it for eagles, hawks, falcons and almost any bird of prey on screen. The same sound often appears in documentaries, video games and outdoor-themed advertising.

The red-tailed hawk is a fitting stand-in in one sense: it is common across North America and its call is one of the most familiar raptor sounds in the countryside. But the two birds are quite different; see eagle vs hawk for how to tell them apart.

Why the substitution happens

The reason is simple: the real bald eagle call does not match the image. A massive bird with a hooked yellow bill and a reputation as a national symbol sounds, in reality, a bit like a squeaky gull. Audiences expect a bird of prey to sound fierce, and the red-tailed hawk delivers.

Once a sound becomes the standard “eagle” effect, it is copied from production to production and reinforces what audiences expect. Many people are surprised to hear a wild bald eagle for the first time because the real sound so rarely reaches the screen.

How eagle and hawk calls compare

Golden eagles are also quiet birds with a surprisingly weak voice, and in Europe and Asia most large eagles are not especially loud. In general, large raptors that soar over wide areas rely more on sight than on loud calls to communicate.

What eagle and hawk calls mean

Bird of prey calls have practical jobs. Bald eagle pairs use calls to keep in touch, greet each other at the nest and coordinate during courtship. Adults call at other eagles that come too close to their nest or food, and young birds call to demand food from their parents.

The red-tailed hawk’s scream is used mainly in territorial defense and during courtship, often while the bird circles high above its territory. Hawks also call when disturbed near the nest. Some birds even imitate hawk calls: blue jays, for example, are known to mimic red-tailed and red-shouldered hawk calls.

How to hear and recognize eagles in the wild

The best places to hear bald eagles are winter gatherings near open water, salmon rivers in the Pacific Northwest and the shores of lakes and reservoirs where pairs nest. Listen for a chattering, gull-like call coming from a large perched bird with a white head. A long, falling scream overhead, on the other hand, usually means a red-tailed hawk.

Near water, be careful with ospreys, which nest in similar places and also give high whistles. Their calls are clearer, more evenly spaced and often given in flight, while bald eagle chatter is faster and more stuttering. Gulls can also sound similar at a distance, so always try to see the bird that is calling before you decide.

If you want to learn the difference, recordings from sound libraries are a good start. For more on where to see and identify hawks in the field, see hawks of North America.