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Thread: question about Bald eagles

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    Super Moderator arash_hazeghi's Avatar
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    Default question about Bald eagles

    Hey guys how do you tell a male from a female BE?
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    Females are always bigger.

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    BPN Member dankearl's Avatar
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    Females beaks are also brighter yellow.
    Dan Kearl

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    Quote Originally Posted by dankearl View Post
    Females beaks are also brighter yellow.
    Never heard that before. Is that a personal observation? I know that there is a relationship between the depth of the beak and talon length that can be used but that is when the bird is in the hand.

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    BPN Member dankearl's Avatar
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    Roy, it is a personal observation, you are right, the females are always larger and next time you see a pair together,
    The female has a larger and more yellow beak also.
    Dan Kearl

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    Quote Originally Posted by dankearl View Post
    Roy, it is a personal observation, you are right, the females are always larger and next time you see a pair together,
    The female has a larger and more yellow beak also.
    Dan, that is very interesting.

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    Super Moderator arash_hazeghi's Avatar
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    well what if there is only one bird in the frame :D ?
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    Able to get on internet in early morning!

    Bald Eagles are sexually dimorphic with females bigger than males as mentioned. This "reverse" sexual dimorphism (male birds are bigger than females as a general rule) is due to sexual selection for size an is common in raptors. I'm not sure why raptors buck the trend but there is likely a literature on it (Roy may know). As far as I know there is no reliable way of telling males from female Bald Eagles when they are on their own.

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    I'm not 100% on this but I believe that on average females have proportionally larger beaks than males.

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    thanks guys.
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