Males have a large comb on their heads, and females don’t. They live throughout the Andes mountains, which run along the Pacific coast of South America.įun fact about Andean condors: Raptors are not usually sexually dimorphic, which means males and females have very similar appearances. Very few birds the size of South America’s Andean Condor are able to fly! These big vultures weigh between 17 and 33 pounds, but they can still take to the air! Their wingspan is up to 10.5 feet across! The walls of a kestrel’s nesting area are coated in dried feces! Andean Condor They live in North, Central, and South America and can often be found on telephone poles, surveying the ground for prey.įun fact about American kestrels: Maybe this isn’t so much a fun fact as it is a gross one! Kestrels nest in small cavities rather than building their own nests.Īnd when they defecate, they spray their feces directly onto the wall of the cavity. But take a look at that yellow hooked beak and those yellow talons! It’s very reminiscent of the shape and color of a bald eagle. This small raptor is more colorful than a bald eagle and much smaller. Other appearance details (hooked beak, large talons, fanned tail in flight)Įven though none of these birds is exactly like a bald eagle, there is something about each one that is similar to the USA’s national bird.Color (dark brown or black, potentially mottled).Size (up to 14 pounds and up to an 80″ wingspan).Birds That Look Like Bald Eaglesīirds can look like bald eagles in one or more of the following ways: From a distance, red-tailed hawks may look like bald eagles.Ī mix-up is especially likely if you look at the bird from underneath, and it is difficult to see its color and patterns.Īnother thing that can be confusing is that juvenile bald eagles don’t have the telltale white head, so they are more likely to be confused with red-tailed hawks. Red-tailed hawks may not have the same coloration as bald eagles but they have a similar shape. Is There a Hawk That Looks Like a Bald Eagle? A bald eagle’s beak and talons are yellow, compared to an osprey’s black beak and talons.īald eagles and ospreys both have similar nesting habits and diets. Bald eagles also have a wingspan about 10 inches longer than an osprey.Īppearance: Bald eagles have their signature white heads and brown bodies.
They weigh up to 14 pounds, compared to ospreys, which max out at around 4 pounds. Size: Bald eagles are much larger than ospreys.
I’ll talk more about ospreys in the list below, but let’s talk about how you can easily differentiate between an osprey and a bald eagle. How Do You Tell the Difference Between an Osprey and a Bald Eagle? There are plenty of medium-to-large birds with white heads, including egrets, owls, cockatoos, and owls, but none boast that stunning contrast. The bald eagle is actually the only bird of its size and shape with a distinct white head that is in contrast to the rest of its body. Many Birds have white heads, but what about large birds of prey? Are there others with that easily recognizable white head that can be seen on a bald eagle? Is the Bald Eagle the Only White-Headed Bird? The transition from brown-to-white head feathers happens gradually between years 3 and 5. They don’t develop their white head feathers until they mature at about 5. Juveniles are all brown, with white mottling all over their bodies. The head of adults has head coloration and darker heads which are embodied in unique body structures. They both have dark chocolate brown bodies, including their wings and an all-white head. These distinctive features help to identify individual birds. Adults look the same, regardless of sex, although females are larger and have a wider wingspan. Many people thought they spotted a bald eagle but saw a different raptor.īeing able to differentiate between raptors is a useful birding skill! It’s far more common to see these birds from a distance than up close, so knowing as much as possible about the birds of prey in your area is a great idea! What Do Bald Eagles Look Like?īald eagles are stunning birds. Was that really a bald eagle?īirds of prey often look similar, especially from a distance. The first time I saw a bald eagle soaring above the woods at my house, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
0 kommentar(er)
