“For nearly 250 years, we called the bald eagle the national bird when it wasn’t,” Jack Davis, co-chair of the National Bird Initiative for the National Eagle Center, said in a statement. “But now the title is official, and no bird is more deserving.

President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that officially named the bald eagle as the national bird of the United States. Though a longstanding symbol of 'independence, strength and freedom,' the bird of prey never received a formal designation.

The bird of brown and white feathers has long represented the United States as a majestic and soaring symbol, but only this week did a law make it official.

Bird flu has been on the rise in Washington state and one sanctuary was hit hard: 20 big cats – more than half of the facility’s population – died over the course of weeks.

A Washington state wildlife sanctuary is mourning the deaths of 20 wildcats amid a bird flu outbreak as the virus infects poultry farms, dairy cattle and some people across the nation. The Wild Felid Advocacy Center of Washington in Shelton,

A big cat sanctuary in Washington has suffered "significant losses" among the animals in its care after what it said was an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)—also known as bird flu.