Comparing shapes of male and female heads

[NewMexiKen]

We are usually able to notce that the body of the female eagle is bigger and tends to be heavier "below the waist."  The male's body tends to be larger at the shoulders and then taper down to appear slimmer towards the tail.

The seems to be differences in their head and bill shape. Here are heads of our local male and female Bald Eagles for comparison.

The male's forehead is low and often looks almost to be in a straight line with the culmen (top ridge) of the bill. The female tends to have a higher brow and her bill appears a bit thicker at the base. This makes the male's bill appear longer and slimmer, in proportion to the head. She is also larger, but this cannot be determined at this view.

Male:



The female tends to have a higher forehead and deeper brow and her bill appears a bit thicker at the base. She is also larger, but this cannot be determined at this view.

Female:

[Mike Fossler]

Great comparison, Ken.

I noticed on the females profile, the "culmen" turns up just past the nostril as it interfaces with the forehead - a very noticeable difference. MF