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Golden Eagle

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                                iGolden Eagle

                             Conservation status

   Least Concern (LC)
                          Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Falconiformes
   Family:  Accipitridae
   Genus:   Aquila
   Species: A. chrysaetos

                                Binomial name

   Aquila chrysaetos
   Linnaeus, 1758
   World distribution of the golden eagleLight green = Nesting area Blue =
   Wintering area Dark green = All year distribution
   World distribution of the golden eagle
   Light green = Nesting area
   Blue = Wintering area
   Dark green = All year distribution

   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 six subspecies of Golden Eagle that differ slightly in size
   and plumage. They can be found in different parts of the world:
     * A. c. chrysaetos: Eurasia except iberian peninsula, east to western
       Siberia.
     * A. c. canadensis: North America.
     * A. c. homeryi: Iberian peninsula and North Africa, east to Turkey
       and Iran.
     * A. c. japonica: Japan and Korea.
     * A. c. daphanea: From southern Kazakhstan east to Manchuria and
       south-west China including northern India and Pakistan.
     * A. c. kamtschatica: Eastern Siberia, from the Altay to the
       Kamchatka Peninsula.

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

Distribution

   Adult in flight
   Enlarge
   Adult in flight

   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).

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

   Efforts are being made to re-introduce the species in Glenveagh
   National Park, County Donegal, Ireland, where they had been extinct
   since the early 20th Century. Forty-six birds have been released into
   the wild from 2001 to 2006, with at least three known female fatalities
   since then. It is intended to release a total of sixty birds, to ensure
   a viable population.

Reproduction

   Swooping down to land
   Enlarge
   Swooping down to land

   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).
   The plumage colours range from black-brown to dark brown, with a
   striking golden-buff crown and nape, which give the bird its name. The
   juveniles ressemble 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.

Hunting

   Golden Eagles often have a division of labour 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. 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.

   In Central Asia, Golden Eagles sometimes are trained for falconry: in
   Kazakhstan there are still hunters using these eagles in order to catch
   deer and antelopes; in Kyrgyzstan hunters will show outsiders how to
   hunt foxes [ ]; and in Mongolia they are traditionally trained to hunt
   wolves. Some of the animals that Golden Eagles have been trained to
   kill can weigh 45 kg (100 lb).

Gallery

   American subspecies

   Illustration of a Burkut of Eastern Turkestan (1870s)

   Golden eagle in a zoo, Germany

   Audubon's illustration
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Eagle"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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