But it had never been officially designated to be what many had just assumed it was — the national bird. The bald eagle is indigenous to North America.

The bald eagle has landed in the U.S. code after President Joe Biden signed a bill Tuesday making the predator the official national bird. Congress passed the measure with unanimous support.

The bald eagle, a symbol of the power and strength of the United States for more than 240 years, earned an overdue honor on Tuesday: It officially became the country's national bird.

NEMURO, Hokkaido--Bird watchers here might have thought they had been magically transported across the Pacific when they spotted the national symbol of the United States here in a wetland.