RE: couple easy questions
I agree to not go by the beard. The first "long beard" I ever killed only had a 6.5'' beard. He was a very old bird that suffered from beard rott.
I also called in a jake a few years back. His beard was one of the thickest I've ever seen and it was about 7'' long, but his fan wasn't near to being a full fan.
So, I go by the fan.