America Officially Gets Its National Bird After 250 Years: 'A Bird Of Bad Moral Character'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The bald eagle is officially America's national bird now. US President Joe Biden signed 50 bills into law on Tuesday, one of which included making the bald eagle America's official bird.

The bald eagle, indigenous to North America, is said to be a symbol of the power and strength of the United States for more than 240 years.

Although the bird of prey is at the center of the Great Seal of the United States, it was never formally recognised as the country's official bird, NBC news reported. The US didn't have an official bird in the almost 250 years since its founding, it reported.

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Some of the Founding Fathers - Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson - were tasked with creating a national seal but simply couldn't come to an agreement.

According to the report, a version of the“Great Seal” with a bald eagle was submitted by Secretary of the Continental Congress Charles Thomson and approved in 1782. The seal is made up of the eagle, an olive branch, arrows, a flag-like shield, the motto“E Pluribus Unum” and a constellation of stars.

That same year, Congress named it the national emblem and its iconic image has since appeared on countless official documents, military insignias, US currency and the presidential flag.

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Franklin was reportedly against the decision, arguing in a letter to his daughter that the bald eagle was "a bird of bad moral character.

On Tuesday, Joe Biden also established the first federal anti-hazing standard to address violence and deaths occurring on higher education campuses around the country. He also signed a bill supported by reality-TV star and heiress Paris Hilton, which holds treatment centers and care facilities serving the youth accountable.

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Earlier this month, Biden vetoed legislation to add 66 new judges to understaffed federal courts nationally, commuted the sentences for 37 out of 40 federal inmates on death row, converting them to life in prison without parole and issued a full and unconditional pardon for his son Hunter.

The flurry of activity comes as Biden is pushing his final priorities before handing power to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20. He is also wrapping up his time in office by getting money previously approved by Congress out the door for infrastructure projects at home and arms for Ukraine.

(With inputs from agencies)

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