https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-...idespread-lead-poisoning-bald-and-golden



More in the link

Democrats, making gun ownership hurt since the 60's.

They obviously aren't eating enough of it cuz there's too many of them feathered rats around. Long since past time to step it up and give them the kind of lead poisoning that comes directly from the barrel of a gun. Same for hawks and owls.

Aren't they the same as starlings/sparrows? I can't tell the difference.

My CZ 452 American 17hmr sure is accurate.

I thought it was all for the chillrin.

Dont beleive the data on this for a second. Bald eagles were non existent in our area for decades and now you can see one any time you want to. I've seen more bald eagles in one year than my entire childhood combined.

Doesnt pass the smell test, and wreaks of rachel carson.

Been saying for years this was the next approach the gunhaters would take. It was science based on politics in the eighties also. Lead poisoning has some significance in areas of heavily concentrated waterfowling damn little anywhere else...mb

What a bunch of bullchit.

I see lots of them. The only thing I see them eating on is deer carcasses in ditches that where hit by vehicles. Toxic paint maybe.

I realize there are lead free offerings for centerfire cartridges. Given the tiny powder charge, can one even make a lead free 22 lr cartridge?

where ya been man ? you can reload 22 LR now, with copper bullets

22 LR copper bullets

I support that notion above

I think there should be a season on bald eagles. I see them everytime I'm in the field.

I think that study is B.S. why we have record numbers of hawks owls and eagles where I live and it’s getting worse. Iowa’s small game is in the worst shape it has ever been. Yes we have to many hawks owls and eagles.

Get all the lead you can, it’s just a matter of time.

Anyone who expects them to ever stop trying to take away your rights ain't that bright. Giving up anything thinking they will be satisfied is a fools errand. Hold the line.

Nothing new, and it’s unlikely they have the authority except on Federal land and on species they regulate. The baldies are common here, seem to mostly eat roadkill and the trout stocked in my gun club’s lake. Never seen a dead one anywhere.

From my house, I can drive a half hour to the Conowingo dam on the Susquehanna river and see dozens of bald eagles. Also see dozens of photographers taking pics of the birds. There's probably hundreds of eagles there now, but fewer in the summer. The dam provides good fishing for the birds and humans,
r

This is just another attempt to slow down and go after gun.

I didn't see any mention of the lead in their system coming from shot or bullets. Have they proven that's the source?

Same here. NEVER saw an eagle in the wild when I was young. Now see multiple per year around the farm. IIRC, we actually have at least one nesting pair in the county now.

“A lead fragment the size of a grain of rice is enough to kill an eagle,” said Krysten Schuler, a Cornell University wildlife disease ecologist."

So how come I don't die from eating all the birds I shoot with #6 shot?

Incidentally, the same Wall Street Journal article that printed the above quote also said that bald eagle population is growing 10% per year.

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/25/981272794/once-imperiled-americas-bald-eagle-populations-are-soaring

I seen one die of lead poisoning after trying to take the owners German Shepard pup, couldn't get lift with the weigh of the pup, then it came crashing to the ground.

We have a serous problem with the Black Vulture attacking newborn calves. They are protected and the population has boomed out of control. What would be the effect I wonder of shooting a carcass with several loads of lead birdshot and letting them eat it?

Its a lie. Just like chocolate kills dogs. Yes in the right quantity it certainly can on both counts.

Prove the source of lead first. The odds of enough lead ingestion even if they happen on the few lost animals shot, and or gut piles that might have frags in them, it certainly won't be deadly or deadly at those numbers.

Lies. Just the norm these days.

Same here in Virginia. There were no Eagles, and very few Hawks, when I was growing up in western Virginia but today you can float down any river and see Eagles and a drive down the Interstate Highway will show many hawks.

Why would somebody with an agenda want to prove the source???
FWIW, there’s lead scattered all around the area I’m currently living. It’s in a teal colored ore that has gold, silver and lead locked up in sulfides…

Lead was killing Vultures here in CA. they claimed, so they got to banning all lead ammo to save them. Can't even use lead to shoot vermin here unless you use pellet guns, which work quite well by the way. The plus side is pellets are easy to get and a hell of a lot cheaper than ammo right now.

I've shot a lot of animals with lead cup-core bullets and they work OK harvesting animals.....but if you used brass or copper bullets they are much better at harvesting game.....they are just better designed bullets....but at a higher cost compared to lead cup-core bullets....

I started using copper and brass bullet because they are better not to help prevent so call poisoning....

you might be on to something here

Harvest? You harvest crops, you kill animals.

And your evidence of that is...? I haven't seen them being better at killing. Penetration probably depending on bullet used.

THAT.. And the fact that lead shot has been banned for waterfowl hunting in WI for many years now..

These numbers show us how much the lead poisoning from hunting is damaging the eagle population.


https://www.businessinsider.com/eagles-lead-poisoning-bullets-hunting-2022-2

Calif. banned ALL lead projectiles in July 2019, birds there are not eating carcasses shot over two years ago.
This study began under the Obama administration and is released during Bidens, both raging anti-gun zealots,
Suppose that's just a coincidence?
Not likely

I got kicked off another site because of this very subject!

The leading cause of the demise of the California condor is purportedly lead fragments from "gut piles".
Texas and Oklahoma hunters leave thousands upon thousands of "gut piles" across both states annually.
The landscape doesn't seem to be littered with dead and dying turkey vultures! ???????
Nor dead and dying scavengers who also feed on gut piles and unrecovered game animals.

The lead ban is hog wash and meant simply to inconvenience waterfowl hunters.

".....but, but, but birds pick up lead pellets and grind them up in their craw (crop?)!"
Nope, pellets are passed through the digestive system just like the grit and gravel they swallow.

Coming from the resident expert on masculinity....

Wind turbines kill more big birds than lead poisoning.

We need more wind turbines then.

Fugging winged rats.

Why don’t lead fishing weights and jig heads etc. get any share of the blame? Oh yeah - because fisherman aren’t viewed as a threat to a tyrannical government.

Article in Springfield, MO tv page this week, Springfield is full blown liberal, and their tv and newspaper are no different "nearly-half-us-bald-eagles-suffer-lead-poisoning"

Another article from a couple weeks ago "hospital-treating-bald-eagle-with-lead-poisoning"

Another article from a couple weeks ago, get the lead out, with a video interview with the zookeeper, glad she's wearing a mask to keep everybody safe "Get the Lead Out"

Jim, I am flattered by your infatuation with me. It'd be a tough call on whether you crush on me or Tulsi harder.

You should go harvest a protein smoothie at the bike shop.

Are crows suffering similar lead poisoning issues. I see them feeding on carrion pretty often.

here in Minnesota these lolly-pop snowflakes are trying to pass this lead -free bullet law / rule , i suppose its only a matter of time and i will be a outlaw ?

Lead use for fishing bans are being attempted.

https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasunti...ry-when-tackle-ban-is-amended-to-a-study

When are they going to do a study on bird death from carbon fiber (wind turbine blades) and ban them.

Necropsies done on California condor chicks found dead under nests have revealed that nearly all have landfill debris fed to them by their parents...not lead poisoning.
The remainder are normally just natural mortality.

that will never come out ,goes agaisnt california liberals gun and ammo ban agenda

Population growth slowing is usually a function of reaching carrying capacity, or exceeding it. Especially after a population growth spurt. Raptors, particularly in mind.

Increased cumulative bird numbers with lead poisoning would also result from this, assuming a stagnant or even slightly decreasing percentage rate. (1% of 100 is one. 1% in a tripled population is 3)

Considering how few bullets actually remain in a BG carcass, much less "gut piles" (damn, you guys need practice!) = bogus BS.

Considering how long it has been non-toxic shot for waterfowl, those available lead pellets on the bottom have either sunk below the accessibility level, or already consumed, for the most part. They aren't getting it from dead birds, nor dead BG animals, nor smaller shot animals with exiting wounds, unless maybe with shot.

It is unlikely this "study" is valid, and if so, the lead is coming from water drunk or other sources, such as prey with a high build-up of lead from water or vegetation the prey has consumed.

I'd be looking at run-off from mines, disposal sites, land-fill seagulls (prey) and scavenging eagles, roads, etc. for environmental lead sources.

Assuming they are interested in science, rather than agenda. But we know how that works.

And to one poster above- you need to research how crops and gizzards work. Lead pellets could be ground up by at least some birds in the digestive process. Grouse and other gallinatuous birds for example.

HayFarmGuy
HOME

TURKEYS

ALPACAS

DUCKS

ABOUT
SEARCH
LOGIN
You are here:
Home Eagle Do Eagles Have Teeth? (3 Facts To Know)
Do Eagles Have Teeth? (3 Facts To Know)

by Alex Kountry

Eagles are powerful birds of prey who are carnivorous in nature i.e. their diet is predominantly meat.

However, despite being meat eaters, eagles do not have teeth like humans.

This begs the question of exactly how eagles are able to successfully eat, swallow and digest the animals they kill.

Eagles are able to eat their food by using their strong beaks to rip the meat apart and push the chunks down their gullet.

In today’s post, we will discuss whether eagles have teeth, how they chew their food, if they have a crop and gizzard and how they use their beak.

Table of Contents [show]
Do Eagles Have Teeth?

Do Eagles Have Teeth
Eagles do not have teeth. When eating their food, they make use of their sharp beak and strong neck muscles to rip the food into small pieces they can swallow.

Most birds do not have teeth, what happens is they swallow their food whole and their gizzard crushes the food to enable digestion.

The gizzard of the bird can grind almost anything including shells of small sea animals.

For the eagle, the sharp beak is a very important aspect of its life, without a sharp beak it would not be able to tear the meat enough to swallow meaning it would have to starve.

How Do They Chew Without Teeth?

Eagles do not chew because they do not possess teeth. Unlike humans who chew their food before swallowing, the eagle rips apart the meat into small pieces and then swallows it.

Eagles are carnivorous and feed on both life and dead meat. We see their hunting prowess in the wild.

Because eagles do not have teeth they possess two major structures that help them in food eating and digestion.

First is their sharp beak. The beaks serve as an avian fork for them.

Once they have caught the animal and settle down to eat, the beak does the work of ripping the meat apart into small pieces.

It is aided by strong muscles in their neck.

After swallowing, the food goes down to their gizzard where it is ground up and digested and any indigestible materials are sent out.

Related: Here is an article I wrote on Do eagles have hair

What Are The Uses Of An Eagle’s Beak?

As we have established, beaks are very important for eagles daily survival.

The beaks are structures grown from keratin. Human fingernails, the birds of beaks and their claws are also made from keratinous material.

The keratin provides strength and a glossy look to the beak. The eagle has to constantly keep the beak sharp to avoid overgrowth, just like our fingernails.

The process of sharpening and cleansing the beak is called feaking. The eagle wipes the beak alternately back and forth on a rock or tree limb.

Apart from using the beak in catching prey and eating, another important task eagles use their beaks for is nest building.

Eagles are monogamous in nature and once they are paired up with a mate, they begin the process of building a nest.

They use their beaks to carry suitable sticks to the nest site, till it is built to their satisfaction.

They also use their beaks to clean themselves in an action called preeningfaction. They also use their beaks for preening activities.

Preening is the process where birds maintain their feathers by using their beaks to arrange their feathers, clean their plumage and keep ticks in check.

Eagles beaks are very important to them and they can’t survive without them.

Do Eagles Have A Crop Like Chickens?

Eagles have a crop like most birds and this is an important organ that aids them in digestion.

The crop is a thin walled part of the alimentary tract which is used by birds to store food before they are digested.

When there is abundance of food, eagles can gorge themselves on up to 2 pounds of food and store it in their crops.

The food is able to remain in the crop for sometime so the eagle is able to go several days without having to eat.

Also check out this article I wrote on can an eagle be your spirit animal

Do Eagles Have Gizzard? What Is It Used For?

The gizzard is another important structure in the digestive system of the eagle.

We humans do not have a gizzard because our food is cooked and chewed and as such easily broken down.

Since the eagles do not have teeth they had to develop an highly efficient digestive system to enable them to successfully break down their food.

The eagle’s gizzard is designed to do the food chewing on their behalf since they don’t have teeth.

The digestive process starts with the eagle swallowing the food down esophagus to the crop and this is aided by saliva or water.

The crop in turn passes the food in smaller pieces to the proventricular which uses stomach juices to break down the food then off it is to the gizzard.

The gizzard then grounds the food even more, separating the indigestible materials and forming them into pellets which are regurgitated through the eagle’s mouth.

The digested food is sent to the intestine from which they are absorbed into the blood.

"Do Eagles Need Grit?

The purpose of grit in a bird is to enable their digestive system to further break down their food.

Grit or small stones serve as a form of teeth to chew their food in the gizzard.

This grit is not digestible and can remain within the gizzard for years before they are worn down and passed out as stool.

Since eagles and most birds of prey have a strong gizzard and stomach acids that help them in digestion of food, they usually do not need grit to aid their digestive processes.

However, they still need grit as they are usually seen swallowing pebbles or small stones.

They use the stones to clean the lining of the crop as their diet is high in fat and this leads to a buildup of greasy fat in the crop.

The stones do the work of scouring out the fat and they are usually covered in grease when they get passed out. "

This would seem to indicate meat-eating eagles, etc. are at less risk of gizzard-lead contamination than those that need grit in their gizzards to grind up seeds, and other hard foods. Lead-laden meat, on the other hand, could be chemically digested and could cause problems.

Seems like most dead hawks and owls I see are killed by traffic along the highways.

You know who needs you to use less lead so they can have more?

China.

No kidding. I wish the magpies around here would get lead poisoning. They make as much mess as pigeons, but they are protected. They do pick up the gophers I shoot, but unless they fly a long way to die or find a cave to die in, they are very healthy.

Doing my part to ensure that crows everywhere suffer terminal lead poisoning.....

just wait that's coming too

It's already been done in NY for several years now. You can still use em if you've got em but you can't buy them anymore. Tin sinkers is all you'll find in the stores.

they do when I hunt them

Libs in think tanks... (F.UK! We shuld have used the condors again)

If it is actually lead.....it's coming from our fish.
Darrel Wick

I’ve always been suspicious of lead shot killing waterfowl. It’s never seemed possible to me that hunters could shoot enough shot into miles of water to fill the bottom with enough lead to poison birds. Even if that much lead were fired into the marshes with there mostly soft mucky bottom it seems like the lead shot would quickly sink down far enough to not be easily picked up by waterfowl.

In the past 50 years the resurgence of the Bald Eagle has been impressive. Up until the mid-80s I had never seen one in NY. I saw two flying over my house just this morning and we have a nest just down river from us. All this resurgence happening when hunting was more popular than it is now. Birds die from lots of things including renewable energy sources like wind turbines and your pet cat. What matters isn't so much that they die (it's natural), or, by what means, but: Are their #s increasing, decreasing or staying the same? That's it. More animals including birds or prey and lots of protected species are killed by cars. We gonna ban them too? It's just an excuse to harass us. That said, I shoot a lot of tree rats off our bird feeders with a pellet rifle. I don't eat them but put them in the trash rather than throw them in the woods due to the lead in them that our birds of prey could ingest.

It's too bad UtahLefty no longer posts here...

Yes gravity and water movement pull the lead shot through the mud to the bedrock.

Some sandy bottoms it might take longer.

Lead doesn't leach or move unless it's moved.

Probably damn true!^^^They'll do whatever they can to stop people loading/shooting. F'ing birds, vultures whatever, been eating lead, plastic, paint chips etc forever. Only that Ca condor couldn't adapt. Perhaps it was destined for extinction, but, nooo, mankind[science] saved the [bleep] thing and F'ed us.

All these lead poisoned eagles are mysteriously being found under the wind turbines.

I have got more damn Eagles flying over my place than planes.

Yes sir, I know the difference. Just being lazy.
crop, craw, gizzard