Golden Eagle
The golden eagle is a most powerful and well-known
birds of prey. Scientific name of Golden Eagle is Aquila chrysaetos. They are belong to Accipitridae
family. “Aquila” is a Latin word for eagle which derived from the word
“aquilus” which means “Dark in color”. “Chrysaetos”, an Ancient Greek
language which is used for the golden eagle, derived from “khrusos” , meaning 'gold" and
“aetos” means “eagle”.
Golden eagle is one of the largest birds of prey in
the Northern Hemisphere. The golden eagle is the National bird Afghanistan,
Mexico, Egypt, Germany, and Scotland. The golden eagle is very swift and their
diving speed is over 150 miles per hour. Golden eagle can live 30 years in the
wild.
Harpy Eagle/ About American and Papuan Harpy Eagle
Subspecies of
Golden Eagle
Golden eagles are divided into six subspecies, based
on differences in size and plumage. These subspecies are found in different
parts of the world. Six subspecies are:
·
Aquila chrysaetos chrysaetos
·
Aquila chrysaetos kamtschatica
·
Aquila chrysaetos homeyen
·
Aquila chrysaetos daphanea
·
Aquila chrysaetos japonica
·
Aquila chrysaetos Canadensis
Description
and Behavior
The Golden eagle is one of the large birds of prey. The
size of the Golden eagle is 66cm to 102cm in length. Adult male Golden eagle is
smaller than female Golden eagle. Female
Golden eagles are heavier than male Golden eagles. Female of the Himalayan
Golden eagle is about 37% heavier than male Golden eagle and have nearly 9%
longer wings. The largest subspecies of male
Golden eagle weighs 5.6 pounds and female weighs 7 pounds. Normally, male
Golden eagle weighs around 7 pound and female around 11 pound.
The length of their tail is 26 to 38cm and beak is
6cm. The length of their powerful hallux-claw is between 4 to 6cm. Their wingspan is 6 feet to 8 feet.
Both the male and female golden eagle have dark brown
or blackish brown plumage. On the inner wing and tail have grey feathers. On
their head and neck have striking golden feathers that give the birds its
common name. The tarsal feathers of golden eagles are light golden or white.
Its sharp, hooked beak and large feet are yellow in color.
Juvenile golden eagle is darker and has white patches
on the tail and wings. Two-third of the tail of juvenile is usually white,
ending with a broad black band and a white terminal band. The amount of white feathers
on their wings and tails varies but slowly decrease with each progressive molt.
Adult plumages can be obtained in their fifth summer. Their under wing coverts are
replaced by rustly brown feathers by their second summer and by the third
summer, upper wing coverts are replaced by dark brown feathers. They obtain the
adult plumage at the age of 5 to 6 years old.
The golden eagle’s bill is grey near the base but tip
is black and the color of its cere is yellow. Their moulting start from March
and decreases in winter. Golden eagle has tending for silence. Their voice is
weak, high and shrill that is incompatible with their size and nature. Their
occasional calls tend during breeding season. Nine distinct calls of the golden
eagle were recorded- chirp, wonk, honk, wip, hiss, croak, weee-o, pleek,
cherep.
The golden eagle is the best fliers among all
raptorial birds. It has broad long wings with finger-like indentations at the
end of the wings. Normally their speed is around 45 to 50km per hour but when
they dive after prey, their speed can reach 240 to 320km per hour. Golden eagle
is the second fastest bird in the world after Peregrine falcon.
The color of adult golden eagle's eyes is brown or
gold. The golden eagle has excellent eyesight and the size of its eyes is also similar to that of a human. The golden eagle has 4 to 5 times
better eyesight than a human. Golden Eagle's excellent vision helps it to find prey from high in the sky. The golden eagle able to see a rabbit at more than
three miles away. Humans can only
have a maximum vision of 20/20 but golden eagle’s average vision is 20/5. Their retinas are much more densely coated with cones.
Their eye has two focal points called “fovea, a
deep central fovea and a shallow temporal fovea. The deep fovea points forwards
and approximately 45 degrees to the right or left of the head axis and the
shallow fovea also points forwards but approximately 15 degrees.
It has two eyelids and a translucent nictitating
membrane, known as the “third eyelid” which
blinks every 4 to 5 seconds horizontally
across the eyes to provide moisture and protection and cleans the eyes from
dirt and dust. The lacrimal gland and Hardarian gland produce eagle tears that moisten
the eyes and prevent eye infections.
Golden eagles have the ability to see more colors than
humans can. They also able to see ultraviolet light. Small
prey’s urine trail is visible to the eagles in the ultraviolent range.
Golden eagle has ears behind their eyes, covered with
feathers. They have good hearing. Golden
eagle can live 30 years in the wild.
Golden Eagle
diet
Golden eagle is carnivore. Golden
eagles prefer to hunt and eat any animals of a reasonable size. The golden eagle usually hunt during daytime but they
also hunt one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. They use their speed, powerful feet and sharp talons
to snatch up prey like rabbit, marmots, squirrels, hares. They use their speed, powerful feet and sharp talons
to snatch up prey like rabbit, marmots, squirrels, hares. The golden eagles prefer to hunt foxes including adult
red foxes which are heavier than the golden eagle. The
golden eagles eat 12 species of Canid (dog family) and make up 2.8% of golden
eagle’s diet but rarely hunt cats.
Golden eagles also eat other mammals like moles,
raccoons, pikas, kangaroo rats etc. but these prey items comprise less than 1%
of nest. Golden eagle also attack other birds and more than 200 bird species
have been identified at the golden eagle’s nest. Golden eagles eat rock
pigeons, Canada goose, magpies, crow, raven, rooks, Eurasian jay, water fowl,
swans, ducks, pigeons, geese, herons, cranes, cormorants, loons, auks etc. They
rarely hunt larks, woodpeckers, cuckoos, shrikes, finches and many other small
species of birds.
Generally they hunt and eat colubrid snakes or
harmless snakes but occasionally venomous species like prairie rattlesnake,
vipera berus etc. are hunted and eaten by golden eagles. In some regions, tortoises are the main prey in their
diet.
The golden eagles that live in hotter, drier place,
regularly hunt and eat lizards. The large lizards such as monitor lizard
contribute most to the golden eagle’s diet. In
Europe, ocellated lizard is the most important lizard prey of golden eagle. In
Northern Africa, spiny-tailed lizards are most important prey for golden eagle.
The golden eagles that live in the French Pyrenees and the West-Central
Highlands of Scotland, eat amphibians, especially Rana frogs.
In winter month, the golden eagles largely depend on
carrion. Every day they need 250g of food. When there is scarcity of food,
golden eagles attack owls, hawks, falcons and wolverines and any other birds of
prey and forcefully snatch their food or their leftover carrion.
Habitat of
Golden Eagle
Golden eagle live in Eurasia, North Africa and North
America. Golden eagle lives in temperate, polar, terrestrial habitat. In
Europe, golden eagles are found in tundra and taiga and from the Kola Peninsula
to Anadyr in eastern Siberia. In North America, they are found from Mexico
through Alaska. A small population lives in Canada and eastern United States. In
the United States, there live around
20,000 to 30,000 Golden Eagles. A small population lives in northern Ontario
and Quebec, Canada.
Reproduction
of Golden Eagle
Golden eagles are monogamous, means pairs stay
together year round. When they are 5 years old, they begin breeding. A breeding
pair is formed in a courtship display known as “sky-dancing”, which is an
aerial dance including a series of intricate swoops and dives. Golden eagles
breed from March to August. They start to build their nest 1to 3 months before
laying eggs. Golden eagles prefer to build their nest on cliffs but also build
on trees, windmills, towers. They build nest 0 to 107m off the ground. Both
male and female golden eagle build their nest that take 4 to 6 weeks. They use
dry grass, sticks, inner bark, wire, fence posts and also use bones to build
their nest. Their huge nest is 5 to 6 feet wide and 2 feet high and enclosing a
bowl about 3 feet by 2 feet.
The female golden eagle lays 1 to 4 eggs in the nest and lays one egg every other day and don't hatch at the same time. The female golden eagle sits on the eggs or incubates for 40 to 45 days. Once hatched, the female remains with them continuously for the next 10 days, then the male provides food to the mother and chicks. They start flying at about 10 weeks of age and when they are 45 to 81 days old, they become independent and leave the nest.
Threat to
Golden Eagle
Due to habitat destruction and degradation, illegal
shootings, and contamination of its food source, the use of the insecticide
DDT, the golden eagle population decreased. Lead
poisoning is one of the leading causes of death of golden eagles.
Golden eagle is one of the largest birds of prey in
the Northern Hemisphere. The golden eagle is the National bird Afghanistan,
Mexico, Egypt, Germany, and Scotland.
Where does the golden eagle live?
Golden eagle live
in Eurasia, North Africa and North America. In North America, they are
found from Mexico through Alaska. A small populations found in northern
Ontario and Quebec.
Are Golden Eagles bigger than bald
eagles?
The size
of the Bald eagle is70cm
to 103cm long. Female Bald eagles are about 25% large than male bald eagles.
Adult male Bald eagle weighs 7 to 10 pounds while the female
Bald eagle weighs about 14 pounds. Male Bald eagle’s wingspan is 1.8m to 2.3m
but as female bald eagle is larger in size than the male so their wingspan can
reach 2.5 in length and mass is up to 6.5kg. The size of bald eagles depends
on where they live. The Bald eagles that live in South
Carolina, weigh 3.30kg and wingspan can reach up to 1.90m.
In other
hand, The size of the Golden eagle is 66cm to 102cm in length.
Adult male Golden eagle is smaller than female Golden
eagle. Their wingspan is 6 feet to 8 feet. The
largest subspecies of male Golden eagle weighs 5.6 pounds and female weighs 7 pounds.
Normally, male Golden eagle weighs around 7 pound and female around 11 pound.
So,
golden eagle is smaller than bald eagles in average height and wingspan, but
there is not much difference in average weight, height and wingspan.
Are there golden eagles in Ireland?
Once golden
eagles were found in Ireland but disappeared in the 18th century. However, the reintroduction of the
Irish breeding population has been reintroduced in County Donegal. The Donegal Golden Eagle population
is still in a difficult position. It was recorded that in 2019, there were about 22-28 Golden
Eagles on the Island of Ireland.
How rare is Golden Eagle?
Once, the
golden eagles lived in Europe, North Asia, North America, North Africa, and
Japan. An estimated
100,000 to 200,000 Golden Eagles live around the world, including Europe, Asia
and North Africa. According
to the IUCN the golden eagle is not considered threatened. Human activities are
the main cause of their threates include habitat change, persecution, poisoning
and collisions with man-made objects like tower, electric post, telephone pole
etc.
Can Golden Eagles kill humans?
The golden eagle is a most powerful and well-known birds of prey. The length of their beak is 6cm and the length of their powerful hallux-claws are between 4 and 6 cm and each leg has 1200 pounds of crushing power per square inch! They are so powerful that they can kill a man but they become aggressive only when the human disturb their chicks or come closer to their nests.
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