Adults have a brown-black body and a white head and tail. The wings are long and broad, the tail squared and the legs are yellow. Juvenile eagles are chocolate brown, but with mottled white on their tails, bellies and wing linings. It is not until their fourth year that the birds acquire the white head and tail feathers identifying them as adults. Not until their sixth year do they lose all their immature plumage. Female body length varies from 35 to 37 inches, slightly larger than the male, with a wingspan that varies from 79 to 90 inches. Male body length varies from 30 to 34 inches. Their wingspan ranges from 72 to 85 inches. Weight varies from ten to fourteen pounds. Northern birds are significantly larger than their southern relatives.