The large bird of prey, the golden eagle, belongs to the family of hawks and eagles. The striking shade of the golden head and neck makes it possible to distinguish the golden eagle from its congeners.
Appearance description
Golden eagles see much better than a person with perfect vision. Birds have large eyes that take up most of the head.
The wingspan is from 180 to 220 centimeters, an adult specimen weighs up to 5 kilograms.
Like many other falconifers, females are much larger, weighing 1/4 – 1/3 more than males.
The plumage color ranges from black-brown to dark brown, with a bright golden-yellow crown and nape on the head. There are also chaotically located light areas on the upper part of the wings.
Young golden eagles are similar to adults, but have dimmer and speckled plumage. They have a tail with white stripes, there is a white spot on the wrist joint, which gradually disappear with each molt, until the full plumage of an adult appears in the fifth year of life. Golden eagles have a square tail, their paws are completely covered with feathers.
Bird habitat
Golden eagles prefer:
- foothills;
- plains;
- open area;
- treeless places.
But large trees or mountain slopes are chosen for nesting.
In the north and west, golden eagles live in the tundra, prairies, pastures or steppes. In winter, the habitat is not important for birds; in summer, golden eagles choose areas with abundant food to feed their offspring. The wooded parts of the golden eagles are used to get food, fly out to hunt along swamps or rivers.
This magnificent bird is native to North America, Europe and Asia.
Migration
Golden eagles live in the nesting area all year round. They migrate short distances only due to lack of food during the winter. They do not need to migrate to the far south, they survive thanks to their excellent hunting abilities.
What do eagles eat
This bird is not a scavenger, but a predator that regularly takes prey up to the size of foxes and cranes. The golden eagle’s beak is good for breaking large prey. Dead animals are eaten by the golden eagle only in times of famine, when it is difficult to find food.
The golden eagle feeds on a variety of mammals such as:
- rabbits;
- mice;
- surki;
- hares;
- injured sheep or other large animals;
- foxes;
- young deer.
During the winter months when prey is insufficient, golden eagles pick up carrion in addition to their fresh diet.
Sometimes, when carrion is absent, golden eagles hunt for:
- owls;
- hawks;
- falcons;
- wolverines.
Open spaces, which golden eagles choose for food, provide an ideal hunting territory for birds, allow them to quickly approach from the air, prey have nowhere to run and hide.
Golden eagles have good eyesight and notice their prey from a great distance. Birds use their claws to kill and transport prey, tear food to pieces with their beak.
Behavior of golden eagles in nature
Golden eagles are not noisy birds, but sometimes they emit a barking cry.
The golden eagle is a majestic bird that often circles the sky for hours without effort, even in the summer heat. The bird rises into the air from the ground, the golden eagle does not need a long take-off path or branches to rise into the sky.
Hunting strategy of golden eagles
They look for food, flying high or flying low over the slopes, they also hunt down prey from high branches. When the victim is seen, the golden eagle rushes at it, grabs it with its claws. The members of the pair hunt together, the second bird captures prey if the prey evades the first, or one bird leads the prey to the waiting partner.
Reproduction and offspring
A large number of unpaired birds live outside the nesting areas, which supports a fairly large population of this large and slowly maturing bird.
Golden eagles mate with one partner for life, build several nests on their territory and use them alternately. The couple is moving, looking for the best place to raise their cubs. Nests are built from heavy tree branches, laid out with grass.
The diameter of the nest reaches 2 meters and a height of 1 meter, the golden eagles repair the nests as needed and increase with each use. If the nest is on a tree, the supporting branches sometimes break due to the weight of the nest.
Females lay two black eggs in late winter / early spring. Golden eagles are incubated immediately after the first egg is laid, the second appears after 45-50 days. In nine cases out of ten, only one chick survives. In good years for hunting, both cubs survive. After another couple of months, young birds leave their parents and make their first flight.
Golden eagles spend a lot of time and energy raising their young. Young golden eagles hunt on their own and are often mistaken for buzzards due to their similar size and color.
How long do birds live
The life span of a golden eagle in captivity reaches 30 years, wild birds live for about 20 years – this is the normal average life span.
Video about the golden eagle
