African Fish Eagle vs Lesser Fish Eagle

African Fish Eagle

Icthyophaga vocifer

The African fish eagle is a large bird. The female, at 3.2–3.6 kg (7.1–7.9 lb) is larger than the male, at 2.0–2.5 kg (4.4–5.5 lb). This is typical sexual dimorphism in birds of prey. Males usually have wingspans around 2.0 m (6.6 ft), while females have wingspans of 2.4 m (7.9 ft). The body length is 63–75 cm (25–29.5 in). The adult is very distinctive in appearance with a mostly brown body with a white head like the bald eagle and large, powerful, black wings. The head, breast, and tail of African fish eagles are snow white, except for the featherless face, which is yellow.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Hobbyfotowiki · CC0

Lesser Fish Eagle

Icthyophaga humilis

Large782 gWetland

The lesser fish eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey that is primarily gray-brown in colour with broad, blunt wings and coarse featherless legs. They are smaller than the similar Icthyophaga ichthyaetus (grey-headed fish eagle) and may often get confused with the similar species. The lesser fish eagle has a brown breast with white thighs and belly. They have a short, rounded tail with a long neck and a small head. Juvenile lesser fish eagles are similar in appearance to adults, although they have brown eyes whereas an adult has yellow. Adults have a wingspan reaching 1.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Zac Peterson · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: African Fish Eagle and Lesser Fish Eagle.