In order to grasp and carry live fish, eagles need strong legs and toes, and a powerful grip. Eagles have talons and no feathers on their legs. Eagles do not because they prey on fish; feathers on the legs would drag on them, slowing them down.

An eagle foot is made up of four muscular toes, powerful enough to hang onto a fairly large fish as the eagle carries it through the air. The strong muscles in the legs, that when contracted clamp the tendons in the lower legs and toes down, closing all the talons together in a vice-like grip.

What type of feet do bald eagles have? Scaled (featherless) feet with 4 toes, each with a very serious claw (talon). Three toes face forward, a 4th (the hallux) faces backward to aid in gripping prey.

Eagles have 4 talons (and toes) on each foot, a hallux talon at the back of the foot that faces front, and 3 toes on the front of the foot where the talons face toward the back. The hallux talon is always longer than the other regular talons. And in females, this talon is longer than in males. As a matter of fact, that is one way we tell the gender of bald eagles, by measuring the hallux talon, as the females is longer than the males. These hallux talons are almost 2 inches long on large, female eagles, and only about an inch and a quarter on small males.

Ray Foster