The seal is largely based on the Great Seal of the United States. It is described as: an American bald eagle with wings displayed, holding in his dexter (right) talon an olive branch and in his sinister (left) talon, a bundle of 13 arrows; above his head is a scroll inscribed “E Pluribus Unum,” bearing a shield with vertical stripes of alternating white and red, crowned by a field of blue, all within an encircling inscription “National Transportation Safety Board.” When illustrated in color, the background is white. The wings, the body, and the upper portion of the legs of the eagle are shades of brown; the head, neck, and tail are white; the beak, feet, and lower portion of the legs are gold. The inscription on the scroll is black. The encircling inscription is the same shade of gold as the eagle's beak. The arrows and the olive branch are a lighter shade of gold. The red and blue of the shield are national flag red and blue.