Bald Eagle Screened by TSA Before Taking Flight in North Carolina

One bald eagle's giving its own wings a break, and hopping a commercial flight instead -- but even being the U.S. national bird won't get you through TSA any faster.

This particular screening eagle, named Clark, was boarding a flight in North Carolina earlier this week ... and as you might imagine, Clark caught a lot of eyes in the airport. Eat your heart out Bennifer!

While he might seem like an unlikely passenger, TSA said the airline made them aware ahead of time that Clark would be a passenger, and agents handled biz as they would for any other animal.

No favors for this guy, either. You'd think being on the cover of every U.S. Passport might get you some celeb treatment, but Clark and his handler still had to wait in line and go through TSA screening. Like everyone else.

Apparently, the eagle is trained to spread his wings on command. TSA agents tweeted about the cool moment ... saying the eagle "showed off a bit during screening" and flapped his wings briefly.

According to the World Bird Sanctuary, Clark is "one of only four bald eagles who travel to fly at different venues throughout the United States”. It's up to each airline to decide which animal is allowed on a plane ... per the FAA website.