What is Golden Eagle?

Golden Eagle
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Falconiformes Family: Accipitridae Genus: Aquila Species: A. chrysaetos
Binomial name
Aquila chrysaetos Linnaeus, 1758
World distribution of the golden eagle Light green = Nesting area Blue = Wintering area Dark green = All year distribution World distribution of the golden eagle Light green = Nesting area Blue = Wintering area Dark green = All year distribution

The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once distributed across North America, Europe and Asia, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas.

The Golden Eagle is one of twelve species of large predominantly dark-coloured eagles in the genus Aquila found worldwide; a large brown bird of prey, it has a wingspan averaging over 2 m (7 ft) and up to 1m (3 ft) in body length.

Taxonomy

The Golden Eagle is one of twelve species of large eagles in the genus Aquila found worldwide. Latest research indicates it forms a worldwide superspecies with Verreaux's Eagle, Gurney's Eagle and the Wedge-tailed Eagle.

Subspecies

There are six living subspecies of Golden Eagle that differ slightly in size and plumage. They can be found in different parts of the world:

• A. c. chrysaetos: Eurasia except Iberian peninsula, east to western Siberia.
• A. c. canadensis: North America.
• A. c. daphanea: From southern Kazakhstan east to Manchuria and south-west China including northern India and Pakistan.
• A. c. homeryi: Iberian peninsula and North Africa, east to Turkey and Iran.
• A. c. japonica: Japan and Korea.
• A. c. kamtschatica: Eastern Siberia, from the Altay to the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The Middle Pleistocene Golden Eagles of France have been described as a paleosubspecies Aquila chrysaetos bonifacti, and those of the Late Pleistocene of Liko Cave (Crete) as Aquila chrysaetos simurgh.

Description

Adult Golden Eagles range widely in size across their range. The largest races comprise the largest eagles of the genus Aquila. Length may vary from 66 to 100 cm (26-40 in), wingspan can range from 150 to 240 cm (59-95 in), and weight is from 2.5 to 7 kg (5.5-15.4 lb).

The plumage colours range from black-brown to dark brown, with a striking golden-buff crown and nape, which give the bird its name. The juveniles resemble the adults, but have a duller more mottled appearance. Also they have a white-banded tail and a white patch at the carpal joint, that gradually disappear with every moult until full adult plumage is reached in the fifth year.

Distribution

At one time, the Golden Eagle lived in temperate Europe, North Asia, North America, North Africa and Japan. In most areas this bird is now a mountain-dweller, but in former centuries it also bred in the plains and the forests. In recent years it has started to breed in lowland areas again (Sweden, Denmark).

There was a great decline in Central Europe, and the Golden Eagle is now restricted to the Appennine regions of Italy and the Alps. In Britain, there are about 420 pairs left in the Scottish highlands, and between 1969 and 2004 they bred in the English Lake District. In North America the situation is not as dramatic, but there has still been a noticeable decline. Golden Eagles can often be seen soaring above mountains in Scotland.

In Ireland, where it had been extinct due to hunting since 1912, efforts are being made to re-introduce the species. Forty-six birds were released into the wild in Glenveagh National Park, County Donegal, from 2001 to 2006, with at least three known female fatalities since then. It is intended to release a total of sixty birds, to ensure a viable population. [1]

In April 2007, a pair of Golden Eagles produced the first chick to be hatched in the Republic of Ireland in nearly a century. The previous attempt to help the birds breed, at the Glenveagh National Park, failed. [2]

Behaviour

Reproduction

A pair of Golden Eagles remains together for life. They build several eyries within their territory and use them alternately for several years. The nest consists of heavy tree branches, upholstered with grass.

Old eyries may be 2 metres (6.6 ft) in diameter and 1 metre (3.3 ft) in height, as the eagles enlarge their nests every year. If the eyrie is situated on a tree, supporting tree branches may break because of the weight of the nest.

The female lays two eggs between January and May (depending on the area). After 45 days the young hatch. They are entirely white and are fed for fifty days before they are able to make their first flight attempts and eat on their own. In most cases only the older chick, which takes most of the food, survives, while the younger one dies without leaving the eyrie.

Hunting

Golden Eagles often have a division of labour while hunting: one partner drives the prey to its waiting partner. They have very good eyesight and can spot prey from a long distance. The talons are used for killing and carrying the prey, the beak is used only for eating.Their prey includes marmots, hares and mice, and sometimes birds, martens, foxes, young deer, and livestock including lambs and young goats. During winter months when prey is scarce, Golden Eagles scavenge on carrion to supplement their diet.

Falconry

Golden Eagles can be trained for falconry.^[1] In Kyrgyzstan Golden Eagles are still used to hunt foxes and wolves.^[2] Foxes are killed outright by the eagles, but due to their size and strength wolves are usually held down so the falconer himself can finish the kill.^[3]

Heraldry

Main article: Eagle (heraldry)

The Golden Eagle is featured in the national coat of arms of Germany, Egypt, Mexico and many other countries

Footnotes

Further reading

• BirdLife International (2004). Aquila chrysaetos. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 2006-05-12. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• Cramp, S. and Simmons, KEL(eds) (1980) The Birds of the Western Palearctic Vol. II, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-854099-X

External links

• Pictures of Golden Eagles
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Species Account
• Golden Eagle Information and Photos
• Nature Conservancy's Birds of Prey: Golden Eagle
• Golden Eagle InfoCenter
• ARKive - images and movies of the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
• Access to Eagles and Eagle Parts: Environmental Protection v. Native American Free Exercise of Religion
• Photos Hunting with Golden Eagles
• RSPB A to Z of UK Birds
• AQUILALP.NET - Monitoring Golden Eagles in the Eastern Alps
• Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) at www.pauldfrost.co.uk/
• Current Research on Golden Eagles
• Picture of Golden Eagle chick in nest
• Picture sequences of Golden Eagles
• Stamps
• Golden Eagle videos on the Internet Bird Collection

Gallery

American subspecies	Illustration of a Burkut of Eastern Turkestan (1870s)	Golden eagle in a zoo, Germany	Audubon's illustration