Golden Eagle

Aquila chrysaetos

Order FALCONIFORMES - Family ACCIPITRIDAE - Subfamily Accipitrinae

Menu

1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

Found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, the Golden Eagle is common in western North America, but rare in the East. It is one of the largest birds of prey in North America; only the Bald Eagle and California Condor get larger.

Cool Facts

• Although capable of killing large prey such as cranes, wild ungulates, and domestic livestock, the Golden Eagle subsists primarily on rabbits, hares, ground squirrels, and prairie dogs.
• The Golden Eagle is the national emblem of Mexico.
• The Rough-legged Hawk, the Ferruginous Hawk, and the Golden Eagle are the only American hawks to have legs feathered all the way to the toes.

• The amount of white in the wings of a young Golden Eagle varies among individuals, and a few lack white in the wings entirely.

Description

• Size: 70-84 cm (28-33 in)
• Wingspan: 185-220 cm (73-87 in)
• Weight: 3000-6125 g (105.9-216.21 ounces)

• Very large raptor.
• Large hooked bill.
• Dark brown all over, with golden sheen on head.
• Very long and broad wings.
• Long broad tail.

• Gray bars on tail.
• Pale bar across top of wings.
• Legs feathered to toes.
• Skin at base of bill yellow.
• Feet yellow.
• Soars with the outer part of the wings lifted in a slight dihedral.

Sex Differences

Sexes alike in plumage, female larger.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult, but with white base to tail and white patches in wings.

Similar Species

• Young Bald Eagle has bare yellow legs, white scattered across wings and body, and soars with flat wings.
• Turkey Vulture holds its wings up in a pronounced dihedral, often tilts from side to side while soaring, lacks a dark trailing edge to the silvery wing feathers, and lacks mottling on the upper side of the wings.
• Young California Condor is larger and has white in the linings of the wings, not the flight feathers.

Sound

Call a high yelp.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from Alaska to central Mexico, eastward to western Nunavut, western North Dakota and western Texas. Also in scattered areas in eastern Canada.

Winter Range

Winters from southern Canada to central Mexico.

Habitat

Generally open country, in prairies, tundra, open coniferous forest and barren areas, especially in hilly or mountainous regions, nesting on cliff ledges and in trees.

Food

Medium-sized mammals.

Behavior

Foraging

Hunts from the air or an elevated perch. Flies close to ground to surprise prey.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Large bowl of sticks, usually on cliff ledge; some in trees.

Egg Description

Creamy white with small brown spots or blotches.

Clutch Size

Usually 1-3 eggs. Range: 1-4.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless, eyes open, covered in down.

Conservation Status

Declining in West, but increasing in East.

Other Names

Aigle royal (French)
Aguila real (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Kochert, M. N., K. Steenhof, C. L. McIntyre, and E. H. Craig. 2002. Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). In The Birds of North America, No. 684 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.