Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle nests can become huge when material is added to reused nests. One exceptional nest measured 18 feet deep.

The magnificent Golden Eagle occurs across the Northern Hemisphere in a wide variety of habitats ranging from arctic tundra to arid desert. Its primary habitat requirements are open country with short vegetation for hunting, and cliffs or tall trees for nesting. It is often found in mountainous country. In North America the Golden Eagle ranges across northern Canada and throughout the western United States. The northernmost populations migrate south, leapfrogging over sedentary populations in southern Canada, to winter in the southwestern United States. Most migrate through a narrow corridor along the Rocky Mountain Front Ranges in Alberta. Small numbers winter in the southeastern United States, mostly along the coast in river mouths and estuaries. Historically Golden Eagles bred sparingly in the Appalachians to Tennessee following the clearing of the forests by early settlers, but breeding populations have since retreated. In New York, the last successful breeding was in 1970. In Maine, only a single pair remained by the late 1980s.
Golden Eagle Range Map

Golden Eagles hunt from the air, soaring at great heights and stooping at high speed with folded wings or quartering low over the ground and surprising their victims. Prey species vary regionally, but small- to medium-sized mammals make up between 70 percent and 98 percent of the diet. In the semi-arid West, jackrabbits are the primary prey, but in northern regions, ground squirrels and marmots predominate. Golden Eagles also hunt young otters and foxes, crows, magpies, grouse and waterfowl. Occasionally they eat reptiles or fish. Prior to 1962 when Golden Eagles gained legal protection, thousands were killed in the West under the mistaken belief that they were a threat to young sheep. Although Golden Eagles are capable of killing young sheep or other ungulates, such predation is very rare, and an insignificant cause of sheep mortality. Eagles are frequently observed scavenging carrion, including sheep.

Young birds attain adult plumage when they are four or five years old. Subadult Golden Eagles breed only rarely. The same mates apparently breed together year after year. Golden Eagle pairs maintain an extensive home range and perform spectacular undulating flights at the edges of their territories or as courtship displays. They dive with folded wings and then rise with a few flaps, sometimes repeating this pattern up to 20 times. Typically the female primarily incubates two eggs. Hatchlings spend about 70 days in the nest before fledging, but remain dependent on their parents for many months. During the first few weeks, the fledglings are usually inconspicuous; they spend most of the time perched and receive food from their parents. Over the next two months they slowly improve their flying abilities before leaving their parents’ territories. Subadult Golden Eagles lead a nomadic life before joining the breeding population.

Description: Golden Eagles are "booted eagles", their tarsi feathered almost to the toes. They are not closely related to Bald Eagles, which are "fish-eagles."

Golden Eagles are huge (33"–38" long) with long broad wings extending 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 feet across. The tail is fairly long and square-tipped or slightly rounded. Adult birds are blackish-brown overall. The golden-brown feathering on the crown and nape give the Golden Eagle its name. The bill is gray with a black tip. Eyes, cere, and feet are yellow. There is a bar of paler feathers on the upper wings, and on the underwings the paler mottled primaries contrast with the darker wing coverts. The undertail coverts, thighs and feathered tarsi are usually paler as well. The tail shows two to four faint bands in the adult plumage. Sexes are alike, although females are 40 percent to 50 percent larger by weight.

Juveniles have a white tail with a black terminal band. They show large white patches at the base of the primaries on both the upper and lower wing surfaces. In later subadult plumages the white wing patches are greatly reduced and the base of the tail is mottled with brown.


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