Field Guide/Birds/Aquila chrysaetos

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.

There are five subspecies of the Golden Eagle:

• Eurasian Golden Eagle (A. c. chrysaetos)
• American Golden Eagle (A. c. canadensis)
• Spanish Golden Eagle (A. c. homeryi)
• Japanese Golden Eagle (A. c. japonica)
• Russian Berkut (A. c. daphanea)

Golden Eagles are renowned for their striking appearance and combining power with agility in flight.

Distribution

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Golden Eagle world 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).

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Golden Eagle swooping down to land

There was a great decline in Central Europe, and the Golden Eagle is now restricted to the higher central Appennine regions of Italy (Regional capital of Abruzzo is named after the latin/Italian word for eagle, L'Aquila) source, 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.

In Central Asia, Golden Eagles sometimes are trained for falconry, and in Kazakhstan there are still hunters using these eagles in order to catch deer and antelopes.

Efforts are being made to re-introduce the species in Ireland, where they had been extinct since the early 20th Century. Thirty-five birds have been released into the wild since 2001.

Reproduction

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Golden Eagle in flight

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.

Physical characteristics

Adult Golden Eagles have an average length of 75-85 cm (30-34"), a wingspan of 150-210 cm (59-83"), and a weight of 3-5 kg (7-11 lb). As in all birds of prey, the females are generally slightly larger than the males. The largest golden eagle on record measured 41 inches (103cm) in length and weighed in an excess of 9kg (20.245lb). It was a female found in Spain. She also held the record for the tallest Golden eagle, standing 66 cm (26 inches).

Hunting

Golden Eagles often have a division of labour while hunting: one partner drives the prey to its waiting partner. Their prey includes marmots, hares and mice, and sometimes birds, martens, foxes and young deer. Large mammals like chamois or adult deer can only be taken if they are wounded or sick.

Golden Eagles as religious symbols

The Golden Eagle is a sacred bird in some cultures and its feathers, like those of the Bald Eagle, are central to many religious and spiritual customs amongst Native Americans. Native Americans revere these eagles as sacred religious objects, and the feathers are often used to honor noteworthy achievements and qualities such as exceptional leadership and bravery.

US Federal eagle feather law (Title 50 Part 22 Code of Federal Regulations), stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally-recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain Bald or Golden Eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. Native Americans and non-Native Americans frequently contest the value and validity of the eagle feather law, charging that the law imposes racial preferences and infringes on tribal sovereignty. The law does not allow Native Americans to give Golden or Bald Eagle feathers to non-Native Americans, a custom commonly practiced today as it was centuries ago.

The Golden Eagle is also used as the centrepoint to the clan Munro crest.

Gallery

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  The hunting Burgut - Golden Eagle - of Eastern Turkestan (1870s)

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  Illustration of Golden Eagle, by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, 1897

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  Audubon's Golden Eagle

References

• Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• Associated Press, Native American gets OK to use eagle feathers in religious practices (2002)[1]
• Associated Press, Residents fight to use eagle feathers (2004)[2]
• Boradiansky, Tina S. Conflicting Values: The Religious Killing of Federally Protected Wildlife (1990)[3]
• DeMeo, Antonia M. Access to Eagles and Eagle Parts: Environmental Protection v. Native American Free Exercise of Religion (1995)[4]
• Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR), Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries PART 22—EAGLE PERMITS[5]

External links

• ARKive - images and movies of the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
• Live Eagle camera
• Photo Hunting with Golden Eagles
• RSPB A to Z of UK Birds
• AQUILALP.NET - Monitoring Golden Eagles in the Eastern Alps
• Religious Freedom with Raptors