Survival in a Wild Habitat Looking at Eaglets   Here's what's happening, and why: MOUTH Do you see the yellow corners of the mouth? The corners are called are called the "gape." They are made of very soft tissue. The wide mouth gives a bigger target for parents helping the babies to eat. A wide mouth makes it easier for the babies to gulp large fish parts. As the beak grows with the growing bird, the gape slowly shrinks. Can you peek into the mouth and see its tongue? Eagles use their tongues to help them swallow, just as we do. But their tongues are not as long, so they can't stick them out at each other the way we can! An eagle usually keeps it mouth shut. When they are hot or nervous, they open the mouth to pant. It looks like a sunny day up here, so the eagle may be warm. Or it might be nervous about having a photographer staring at it. Journaling Questions How does the baby eaglet get food to their mouth? Eagles pant when they are hot to cool off. What other animals do you know that pant? Why don't humans pant to cool off? << Back to Looking at Eaglets Facebook Pinterest Twitter © 1997 – 2019 Journey North. All rights reserved.