Biden signs the law that officially makes the bald eagle the country's national bird

The bald eagle is now officially the official national bird of the United States. It had been considered as such for years, but only this Christmas President Joe Biden signed the federal law declaring the bird as such, after 250 years of use on the country's emblems.

The bald eagle has been part of the country's official seal since it was put into use in 1782. Since then it has become one of the main symbols of the country. The animal, indigenous to North American lands, symbolizes freedom and authority and had a clear Latin inspiration.

Despite this, in no official U.S. document, and not even in the U.S. Code, was the bald eagle listed as a national bird. The animal such was only protected by the National Emblem Act of 1940, which prohibits selling or hunting it.

"For nearly 250 years, we've called the bald eagle a national bird when it wasn't," Jack Davis, co-chairman of the National Eagle Center's National Bird Initiative, said in a statement. "But now the title is official, and no bird deserves it more."