Hi all.
It takes 4-6 years for Bald Eagles to acquire adult plumage. The Peterson
field guide Hawks by Clark & Wheeler and A Photographic Guide to North
American Raptors by the same authors are both excellent for eagle and other
raptor plumages. The Peterson guide is probably the best (in my opinion)
starting point if you're new at aging/sexing hawks by plumages.

Ruth Taylor
Seattle
rutht at seanet.com


At 04:11 PM 12/29/99 -0800, Catherine Alexander wrote:
>Here's an eagle question- I've heard that it takes a couple years for the
>young to develop adult plumage. Are there any distinguishing
>characteristcs that pinpoint age?
>I'd like to be able to tell how old they are.
>
>Thanks,
>Catherine Alexander
>--
>Tony & Catherine
>kittyroo at scn.org
>
>