?golden eagle, Outer Hebrides (1 Viewer)

[marnixR]

not sure whether the attached is a golden or a white-tailed eagle
at the time of observation the tail appeared to be closer to that of a golden eagle, but looking at the heavily cropped images i'm starting to have my doubts

pictures taken a few weeks ago near Bogha Glas in North Harris

 

[rollingthunder]

Apart from the obvious shape and proportions the ‘Golden’ head is visible:t:

Laurie -

 

[marnixR]

thank you

 

[CARERY]

It's an immature Golden Eagle. You would never find a tail like that in a WTE.

 

[rollingthunder]

The tail is the last feature i looked at tbh...

Laurie -

 

[marnixR]

what first confused me was the amount of white in the tail, but I now believe that’s a feature of being a juvenile ?

 

[Sangahyando]

what first confused me was the amount of white in the tail, but I now believe that’s a feature of being a juvenile ?

Yes, immature Golden Eagles have a very conspicuous black-and-white tail. In immature WTEs, the tail is a bit shorter (may appear longer than an adult WTE's, though) and can be partly white in sub-adult birds, but more like "brown feathers with a white core", never the clear white-with-black-tip of a GE.
FWIW, the famous traditional headdresses of some American tribes feature those exact feathers (of immature Golden Eagles).

 

[marnixR]

cheers - always nice to know this type of info