| The Golden Eagle is a large dark bird with a pale golden crown and neck, which is visible when the bird wheels in flight and gives this eagle its name. Though not closely related, it is similar in appearance to an immature Bald Eagle. However the bill is darker and smaller than that of the Bald Eagle. Immature Golden Eagles have white patches on there wings and at the base of the tail. Because of their uniform white bases and dark tips, the tail feathers of young birds were often used by the Sioux Indians to fashion their war bonnets. As with most birds of prey the female is somewhat larger, but otherwise both sexes are similar in appearance.
The Golden Eagle breeds throughout rugged mountains in northern Canada and Alaska as well as the western one third of the United States. In winter the bird will withdraw from the northern most reaches of Canada and sometimes winters in the highlands of Mexico, but throughout most of the west it is a year-round resident. In winter it can occasionally be found in the open deciduous forests of the Appalachian Mountains, though it is a rare site in the eastern part of the United States as this bird does not mix well with humans. It is also found in Eurasia and was known as "The King of Birds" in Roman times.
Golden Eagles form long term pair bonds and are thought to mate for life. Displays can consist of upward spirals and nose-dives at speeds of 100 to 150 miles per hour with wings half open. A pair may claim a territory of as large as 70 square miles and other hawks, eagles and other competitors are driven away.
The nest consists of sticks interwoven with leaves and brush built on a cliff or high in a tree and lined with finer materials. Aromatic leaves are sometimes used and act as a natural deterrent to insect pests. Two or three nests are used and reused and can become very large after several seasons. Western Kingbirds and American Kestrels will sometimes nest in the lower parts of a huge Golden Eagle aeries. The clutch consists of one or two cream colored eggs, sometimes marked with brown. The eggs are incubated mostly by the female for 45 days. The male incubates the eggs only rarely and then only during the day. The male will however bring food to the nest and feed the female who will in turn feed the young which fledge the need 65 to 75 days before they are able to manage their huge wings. The eggs sometimes hatch several days apart and the older siblings will often kill their smaller nest mates.
They hunt in pairs or alone and the diet consist mostly of small mammals especially jack rabbits, marmots, and prairie dogs. They will also eat reptiles, insects, birds, and carrion when small mammals are scarce. They have been known to attack a snowbound or injured deer, however a healthy deer has little trouble protecting itself or its young. Though they have been known on rare occasions to attack lambs, their reputation for preying on livestock is richly undeserved.
Like other long-lived predators at the top of the food chain, DDT caused thinning shells and reproductive failures before its ban in 1972. A larger threat to the Golden Eagle was their slaughter by sheep herders who believed they were a threat to their livestock. More than 20,000 were destroyed in the two decades prior to federal protection. In addition, the overgrazing of the land in the west by cattle and sheep reduced the numbers of small rodents that depended on the tall grasslands and the predators that depend on them. The bird has rebounded nicely since becoming a protected species in 1962.
Length: 30 to 41 inches, Wingspan: 7 feet.
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