Is The Bald Eagle On US Coinage A Male Or Female

The Eagle design was supposedly taken from the "official" pet of the Philly Mint.

http://www.usmint.gov/kids/campcoin/meetrealp.cfm

http://www.usmint.gov/kids/index.cf...oin/pals.cfm

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Originally posted by grovey

Wow...very cool !!

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Way cool!

But, to address the question in the thread title: even though the original "model" may have been male, there is no way to differentiate between genders in Bald Eagles. As a wildlife biologist (retired), I worked a fair amount with Endangered/Threatened species, especially eagles and I wouldn't bet the farm on the sex of a Bald Eagle even if I had it in hand (so to speak) which I often did (close at hand). The female is slightly larger than the male, but the only means to tell for sure is to put it on a scale and weigh it and even then, that's iffy. Some raptor specialists claim they can tell the difference, and maybe they can if they're familiar with the bird, but again, I'm not gonna back my bets based on their say-so. Further, I can't think of an easier way of getting badly mauled - eagles have BIG and SHARP talons and bills, protective restraints notwithstanding.

I suppose one might be able to tell whether an eagle on a coin is male or female by weighing the coin. If it's heavier than another coin of the same series, then it's female. (And for anyone who buys into this, that bridge I have is now on sale for quick turnever, so contact me today before this offer expires.)

To tell the truth, I had no idea what sex it was. I tend to believe what Morgan Fred said related to raptors, and find it hard to believe knowing the sex of the eagle could be of much importance.

My old grandad once told me at about the age of 8 that if I would look at the eagle on the coin through a 10x glass, for at least two hours, I could tell what it was. Always gave up before the two hours, so never found the answer.

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Originally posted by national dealer

Now you guys have me wondering if Peter the Mint Eagle should be renamed Patricia

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Peter. He was checking out some nice "tail-feathers" when he flew into a press fly-wheel.

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Originally posted by Kyra

(Susan, if you feel this is inappropriate, go ahead and delete it- I'll understand! )

Anyone ever heard of a "chicken sexer"? People actually get paid to lift chickens up, inspect their "parts" and figure out if it's a girl chick or a boy chick. I read about this in an article about the world's worst jobs! [:0]

Rachel [:p]

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My brother-in-law grew up on a chicken farm and described to me about sexing day-old chicks. Now, last I checked, day-old chicks weigh about 20 grams, are mostly fluff, and are very, very cute and cuddly. An adult Bald Eagle weighs 4.5 to 5+ kilograms (11+ lbs) and is equipped with sharp talons, a big beak, and a really, really mean disposition. Now I ask you, imagine yourself holding an eagle upside down by the legs and trying to examine its privates in order to determine its sex? (Do not try this at home.)

Seriously, the best means for sexing birds with no obvious visual differences between the sexes is a laparoscopy, an intrusive surgical technique. However, since this is major surgery for a bird and it has a high mortality rate, it is used only on common unprotected birds where there is a goodly supply in the lab. It would not be used on Endangered/Threatened or almost any other wild native species. More recently, DNA or other chromosomal analysis is useful, but it requires specialized training and equipment or, if farmed out, is expensive. In the wild, behavioral observations often determine the sex of monomorphic (same coloration) bird species. In Bald Eagles, the male performs a characteristic mating ritual while the female watches; and the male does all the work while copulating (don't go any further with this ).

ND


A few years ago I was on the Blackfoot river in MT. Saw a bald eagle chasing away a golden eagle- one of my most memorable wildife sightings- almost sends shivers down my spine. I'm sure MFred has a few...
Don

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Originally posted by Susanlynn9

This is going to be a popular answer, I'm sure....the one with the big open mouth is the female with the male looking the other way pretending not to hear her.....

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That was great ND.

As soon as I saw the picture I had the answer, same as Susan's

I thought it was a picture of me and my wife !!!

And here I thought it was the male finally standing up for himself and telling her to get lost!!!! Mike