Difference between revisions of "Field Guide/Birds/Aquila chrysaetos"

Latest revision as of 19:09, 5 July 2012

Aquila chrysaetos (Golden Eagle)
Golden Eagle	Range
	Adult and juvenile
Description
The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. 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 meters in diameter and 1 meter 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. Adult Golden Eagles have an average length of 75-85 cm, a wingspan of 150-210 cm, and a weight of 3-5 kg. As in all birds of prey, the females are generally slightly larger than the males. The plumage colors 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. Golden Eagles often have a division of labor 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. The talons of a Golden Eagle are thought to be more powerful than the hand and arm strength of any human being.

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-{| border=1 cellspacing=0 align=right cellpadding=2 width=233
+{{Bird id
-|-
+| name = Golden Eagle
-!bgcolor=pink| Golden Eagle
+| latin_name = Aquila chrysaetos
-|-
+| level = 4
-|align=center| [[image:goldie.JPG|Golden Eagle]]
+| image_1 = GoldenEagle-Nova.jpg
-|-
+| caption_1 = Golden Eagle
-!bgcolor=pink| [[Scientific classification]]
+| image_2 =
-|-
+| caption_2 = Adult Golden Eagle in flight
-|
+| image_3 = Golden eagle.jpg
-{| align=center
+| caption_3 = Adult and juvenile
-|-
+| range_map = Aquila_chrysaetos_dis(Aiger).png
-| [[Kingdom (biology)|Kingdom]]:
+| range_map_caption = World distribution of the golden eagle<br>Light green  = Nesting area <br> Blue = Wintering area <br> Dark green = All year distribution
-| [[Animal]]ia
+| description = The '''Golden Eagle''' (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere.
-|-
-| [[Phylum (biology)|Phylum]]:
-| [[Chordate|Chordata]]
-|-
-| [[Class (biology)|Class]]:
-| [[Aves]]
-|-
-| [[Order (biology)|Order]]:
-| [[Ciconiiformes]]
-|-
-| [[Family (biology)|Family]]:
-| [[Accipitridae]]
-|-
-| [[Genus]]:
-| '''''[[Eagle|Aquila]]'''''
-|-
-| [[Species]]:
-| '''''chrysaetos'''''
-|}
-|-
-!bgcolor=pink| [[Zoological name]]
-|-
-! ''Aquila chrysaetos''
-|}
-The '''Golden Eagle''' (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is one of the best known [[bird of prey|birds of prey]] in the world. It is about 90 cm in length, has a wingspan of 220 cm and a weight of 5 kg. Like all [[eagle]]s, it belongs to the family [[Accipitridae]].
+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.
-Once the Golden Eagle lived in all temperate Europe, North Asia, North America, North Africa and Japan. In most areas this bird now is a mountain-dweller, but in former centuries it was also distributed in the plains and the forests.
+Old eyries may be {{units|2 meters|6.6 ft}} in diameter and {{units|1 meter|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.
-There was a great decline in Central Europe, where the Golden Eagle now is restricted to the [[Alps]]. In [[Great Britain|Britain]], there are about 500 birds left in the Scottish highlands. In [[North America]] the situation is not as dramatic, but there has been a noticeable decline as well.
+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.
-A pair of Golden Eagles build several eyries within their territory. They use them alternately for several years. The nest consists of heavy tree branches, upholstered with grass.
+Adult Golden Eagles have an average length of {{units|75-85 cm|30-34"}}, a wingspan of {{units|150-210 cm|59-83"}}, and a weight of {{units|3-5 kg|7-11 lb}}. As in all birds of prey, the females are generally slightly larger than the males.
-Old eyries may be 2 metres in diameter and 1 metre in height, as the eagles enlarge their nests every year. If the eyrie is situated on a tree it may happen that the supporting tree branches break because of the weight of the nest.
+The plumage colors 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.
-The female lays two eggs between January and May (depending on the area). After 45 days the youngs hatch. They are entirely white and  are fed for fifty days , then they are able to make the first flight attempts and eat on their own. In
+Golden Eagles often have a division of labor 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. The talons of a Golden Eagle are thought to be more powerful than the hand and arm strength of any human being.
-most cases only the older young survives, while the younger one dies before leaving the eyrie.
+}}<noinclude>[[Category:Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Transcluded Modules|{{FULLCHAPTERNAME}}]]</noinclude>
-The couple remains together for life. They often have a division of labour while hunting: one partner drives the prey to the lurking other one. The prey is [[marmot]]s, [[hare]]s and [[mouse|mice]], sometimes [[bird]]s, [[marten]]s, [[fox]]es and young [[deer]]. Large [[mammal]]s like [[chamois]] or adult deers can only be taken if they are wounded or sick.
-In Central Asia, Golden Eagles sometimes are trained for [[hawking]], and in [[Kazakhstan]] there are still hunters using these eagles in order to catch deer and antelopes.
-<br clear=all>
-[[Image:Golden_Eagle_(small_illustration).jpg|thumb|]]
-There are five [[subspecies]] of 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'')
-[[da:Kongeørn]] [[de:Steinadler]] [[eo:Regxa aglo]] [[ja:&#12452;&#12492;&#12527;&#12471;]] [[sv:Kungsörn]]