Bald Eagle Head Diagram

This annotated diagram of a bald eagle’s head highlights the feather regions, beak, cere, and iris. These anatomical features are essential to interpreting plumage changes and aging processes over time. These specific landmarks form the foundation of Mark McCollough’s 1989 study, Molting Sequence and Aging of Bald Eagles, which remains a cornerstone in eagle aging research. By learning to recognize and name these parts, viewers gain a powerful new lens for understanding McCollough’s descriptions and for observing eagles in the field with greater precision and insight. The diagram was created by EaglesExplored.com. It may be downloaded and used under it’s creative commons license (CC-BY-NC-2.0 EaglesExplored.com)