Golden Eagle

In my opinion the Golden Eagle (Aquila Chrysaetos) is one of the most amazing birds of prey. They are very powerfully built and are one of the biggest birds of prey in the world. The golden eagle belongs to the eagle family: Accipitridae.

They are quite aggressive looking birds, with strong, long limbs equipped with powerful talons for tearing into prey, but also for carrying their food. Their golden and black beak has a curved tip to it.

The diet of a golden eagle is made up of rodents and mammals, such as rabbits, marmots and ground squirrels and prairie dogs. Due to the amazing agility and speed the golden eagle has it can also hunt larger game including: foxes, deer, ibex, mountain goats and cats (both wild and domestic). When hunting the combination of the golden’s eagles sharp and extremely powerful talons, spectacular eye sight, amazing speed and agility all help it to snatch it’s unsuspecting prey. In times when food is scarce golden eagles will even prey upon birds and reptiles.

The Eurasian sub-species of golden eagle are much larger and are sometimes used to hunt and kill dangerous mammals such as wild dogs and wolves in native communities where such animals are threats.

Golden Eagles tend to be of a dark brown colour with golden streaks in their fur. Their belly is a lighter golden colour, with golden-brown plumage on their head and neck.

These birds of prey are generally around 3 feet in length and have an amazing wingspan of up to 7 feet!

Golden Eagles can be found in the northern hemisphere in parts of Eurasia, Africa and North America. In California there is one of the largest populations of wild golden eagles in the world.