Bald Eagle Color Stages
The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) soars as an emblem of North America. While most of us can easily picture the striking image of an adult bald eagle with its snowy white head, there is a process of transformation that precedes their iconic adult plumage. In this article, I unravel the intricate stages of plumages that mark their path to adulthood.
By describing these stages, you will. Color Changes Over Age Bald eagles go through a bit of a color journey as they mature, with four main stages: baby, year two, year three, and that classic adult look (Bird Watcher's Digest). Juvenile Stage: In their first year, these young bald eagles sport mostly dark brown feathers, sprinkled with random white streaks.
Bald Eagle Development - YouTube
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, color, and arrangement of those feathers. In their five year development to adulthood, bald eagles go through one of the most varied plumage changes of any North American bird. The color change from juvenile to adult offers bald eagles advantages in camouflage, communication, attracting mates, and intimidating rivals.
Learning about how and why bald eagles acquire their majestic adult colors provides fascinating insights into raptor development, physiology, and behavior. Almost everyone can spot a majestic adult Bald Eagle with its white head and tail and large body as it soars on rising columns of warm air known as thermals. It takes an approximate five-year progression of molts and physical changes to mature from a small, gray three-ounce hatchling to a three-foot adult with an approximate wingspan of six feet.
Bald Eagle Plumage Stages | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
In the first weeks of life, Bald Eagles are. A simple guide to aging Bald Eagles by their plumage development, legs and their bills with images showing the age progression. Eagles that have not reached the adult stage are referred to as immature, juveniles or sub-adults.
Plumage stages are highly variable, depending on molt sequence, age and timing so other factors like iris and beak color are also taken into account when estimating age. Bald eagles are one of the most striking birds in North America, known for their majestic appearance. You might wonder why these beautiful creatures change colors throughout their lives.
Three stages of color change for the Bald Eagle | cordovaraven | Flickr
The color change in bald eagles is mainly due to the different feather pigments produced as they mature. Bald eagles molt feathers only once per year unlike many smaller birds that molt before breeding season and before migrations. All while this is happening their eyes turn from a rich, dark chocolate color to a light, yellow.
Molt = Loss and replacement of feathers (contour and down), which occurs over a period of 5-7 months (after the breeding period) in Bald Eagles. This is a transitional period: Contour feather covering changes from day to day, and different parts of the body (head and neck, body and wings, tail) acquire new feathers at different times during the period. Eagles undergo one molt per annual cycle.
