📷 Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0
📷 Michael Gäbler
📷 Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak
IUCN: Least Concern
Golden Eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassAves›OrderAccipitriformes›FamilyAccipitridae›GenusAquila
About
The golden eagle’s nape feathers glow bronze in sunlight, giving the bird its name. It pairs for life and often returns to the same cliff nest, adding sticks each spring until a stick nest can stand over a meter high.
Hunting is a study in patience and power: the eagle quarters the sky, folds its wings, and stoops at more than 240 km/h, its talons striking with enough force to crush a marmot’s skull. For thousands of years falconers across Central Asia have flown golden eagles at foxes and even young wolves.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Mountains, tundra, grasslands, and open woodlands with cliffs or tall trees for nesting
🍃Diet Hares, rabbits, marmots, and ground squirrels, occasionally larger prey such as young deer
📏Size & Weight Length 66–102 cm; wingspan 1.8–2.3 m
•Weight 3.5–6.7 kg (females larger)
⏳Lifespan 20–30 years wild; over 45 in care
🗺Range North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa — the most widespread eagle in the Northern Hemisphere
BirdRaptor
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Mountains, tundra, grasslands, and open woodlands with cliffs or tall trees for nesting
🍃Diet Hares, rabbits, marmots, and ground squirrels, occasionally larger prey such as young deer
📏Size & Weight Length 66–102 cm; wingspan 1.8–2.3 m
•Weight 3.5–6.7 kg (females larger)
⏳Lifespan 20–30 years wild; over 45 in care
🗺Range North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa — the most widespread eagle in the Northern Hemisphere
Photo Credits
#1Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0
#2Michael Gäbler · CC BY 3.0
#3Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak · CC BY-SA 2.5
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