cow-patch

it is illegal to be in possession of bald eagle feather in the u.s. but it is not illegal to photograph them. this one belongs to a young native american woman. it is legal for native americans to have bald eagle feathers. she thought i would be interested in it because it belongs to a juvenile eagle–the cow patch of white being the distinguishing identifier from a mature eagle feather which would be all brown. just the other day, i took a walk along our lakeshore, and in one tree, there was a mature bald eagle with white feathered head, making its high-pitched whistle, over and over. in the adjacent tree, there was a juvenile, looking mottled with cow-patch feathers. we were in a northern suburb of the twin cities. a fairly unromantic setting. and yet my shivers of awe were entirely authentic. and always will be.

juvenile bald eagle tail feather