Eagles are cool. One of the reasons I think they're so cool is because of how rare they are around here. Ben Franklin didn't like the idea of using them as our national symbol because they are scavenges and I have seen our chowing down on a deer carcass here. For many years I thought that they were the opposite and would only eat what they caught live but I was wrong. Over the years, I took note on how clean and well groomed they are, and their colors are so beautiful...at least they were in all of those pictures...Then I took a trip to Alaska, where they are plentiful. So plentiful that they are like pigeons are in our big cities and The People aren't all that fond of them. Up close, they are not all that well preened and they are more reminiscent of a homeless person. A woman up there was actually penalized for feeding them. When they poop, it's not like a pigeon drop and the mess is pretty gross. But when I picture eagles in my mind, I don't envision those that I saw in Alaska, I envision the ones I've seen in pictures for all these years.