I feel like 99.99% of Americans are going to be like, "Wait, what? It wasn't already? Really?"
After long being an unofficial symbol, the white head, yellow beak bald eagle became the official U.S. bird on Christmas Eve.
President Biden signed 50 bills into law Tuesday. Among them was Senate bill 4610, legislation amending Title 36 of the U.S. Code to designate the predator as the national bird.
All About Birds notes that the bald eagle "has been the national emblem of the United States since 1782," though only unofficially.
Famously, the consummate American statesman Benjamin Franklin took a dim view of the famous bird:
Had Benjamin Franklin prevailed, the U.S. emblem might have been the Wild Turkey. In 1784, Franklin disparaged the national bird's thieving tendencies and its vulnerability to harassment by small birds. 'For my own part,' he wrote, 'I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. … Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District.'
Harsh words for such a majestic creature!
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, meanwhile, was somewhat more amicable about it this week:
The bald eagle is a symbol of our country's freedom and strength.
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