Golden Eagle 1 Golden Eagle Golden Eagle Adult Golden Eagle (North American subspecies) Aquila chrysaetos canadensis Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Subclass: Neornithes Infraclass: Neognathae Superorder: Neoaves Order: Accipitriformes Family: Accipitridae Genus: Aquila Species: A. chrysaetos Binomial name Aquila chrysaetos (Linnaeus, 1758) Light green = Breeding only Blue = Wintering only Dark green = All-year Synonyms
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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. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of
the more heavily populated areas. Despite being locally extinct or uncommon, the species is still fairly ubiquitous,
being present in Eurasia, North America and parts of Africa. The highest density of nesting Golden Eagles in the
world lies in southern Alameda County, California.[1] [2] [3]
These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their heads and necks. Their wingspan averages
over 2 m (7 ft) and their length 1 m (3 ft).
Golden Eagles use their agility and speed combined with extremely powerful talons to snatch up prey including
rabbits, marmots, ground squirrels and many other prey and large mammals such as fox, wild and domestic cats,
mountain goats, ibex, and young deer. They will also eat carrion if prey is scarce, as well as reptiles. Birds, including
large species up to the size of swans and cranes as well as ravens and greater black backed gulls have all been
recorded as prey. They have even been known to attack and kill fully grown roe deer. The Eurasian subspecies are
used to hunt and kill wolves in many native communities, where their status is regarded with great mystic reverence.
Golden Eagles maintain territories that may be as large as 155 square kilometres (60 square miles). They aremonogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Golden Eagles nest in high places
including cliffs, trees, or human structures such as telephone poles. They build huge nests to which they may return
for several breeding years. Females lay from one to four eggs, and both parents incubate them for 40 to 45 days.
Typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three months.
Description
Subadult, note white in tail and dark neck.
Adult Golden Eagles range considerably in size, though some are
among the largest eagles of the genus Aquila. Most subspecies of
Golden Eagle vary in the range from 65 to 112 cm (26 – 44 in) inlength, wingspan can range from 150 to 280 cm (60 – 110 in), and
weight is from 2.5 to 9 kg (5.5 – 20 lb). The smallest-bodied subspecies
is A. c. japonica while A. c. daphanea is the largest on average.[4]
However, wild specimens from Northwestern North America ( A. c.
canadensis) can exceed normal dimensions, as the largest recorded
weighed 9 kg (20 lbs) and had a body length of 102 cm (40.1 in).[5] As
with many Accipitriformes, females are considerably larger than
males; in the case of the Golden Eagle they weigh one-quarter to
one-third more than male birds.
The plumage colour ranges from black-brown to dark brown, with a striking golden-buff crown and nape, which
glows in the sunlight and light reflects the golden tint, which give the bird its name. The upper wings also have an
irregular lighter area. Immature birds resemble 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. Contour feathers may be moulted in a short time span. [6]
The Golden Eagle is the national bird of five nations, Albania,
Germany and Austria in continuation of the Holy Roman Empire, and
Mexico and Kazakhstan, the most of any species. The eagle is very
much connected to the Saladin Golden Eagle, currently used as the
coat of arms of Egypt, Iraq, and Palestine, it was also previously usedby Libya, and Yemen.
The Golden Eagle was model for the aquila, the standard of the Roman
legions. It is featured in the national coats of arms of Germany,
Albania, Austria, Egypt, Mexico, Romania and many other countries.
Religion
In North AmericaThe eagle is a sacred bird in some cultures and the feathers of the eagle are central to many religious and spiritual
customs, especially amongst some Native Americans in the United States and First Nations in Canada, as well as
among many of the peoples of Meso-America. Some Native American peoples revere eagles as sacred and the
feathers and other parts of Bald and Golden Eagles. Feathers are often worn on Native American headdresses and
have been compared to the Bible and crucifix of Christianity. Eagle feathers are often used in various Native
ceremonies and are used to honour noteworthy achievements and qualities such as exceptional leadership and
bravery.
Current United States eagle feather law (50 CFR 22) stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American
ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers for religious or
spiritual use. Thus, the supply of eagle material for traditional ceremonial use can be guaranteed and ceremonialeagle items can be passed on as heirlooms by their traditional owners without the restrictions that would usually
apply. Commercial trade in Golden Eagles or their feathers or body parts is not legalized by these exceptions. [21]
On February 1, 2006 the Director Dale Hall of the USFWS issued a new permit to the Hopi Tribe for 2006. On April
26, 2007 USFWS Deputy Director Kenneth Stansell issued a new permit for 2007. As in the past, the permits
authorize the Hopi to take up to 40 golden eaglets.
In keeping with a departure begun in 2003, the USFWS HQ in Washington, D.C., not the Regional Director in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, issued the 2006 and 2007 Eagle permits. The Regional Office issued a separate, new
permit on March 23, 2007 for the Hopi to take an unlimited number of red-tail hawk nestlings in northeastern
Arizona in 2007.A new aspect of Native American religious eagle gathering is that additional tribes are now taking live eagles under
USFWS permits, for the first time. They are:
Jemez Pueblo - In October 2006, the USFWS issued a permit to Jemez Pueblo to capture up to 2 golden eagles in the
Valles Caldera National Preserve, administered by the Forest Service, in Sandoval County, New Mexico. The
USFWS had previously denied a Jemez request in 2002 to take eagles. In July 2007 Jemez reported that they
successfully collected two immature golden eagles.
Taos Pueblo - In February 2007 the USFWS issued a permit to Taos Pueblo to shoot one mature golden eagle on
Taos Pueblo Tribal lands in Taos County, New Mexico. An additional permit allows the permittee to transport the
taken eagle and its parts anywhere within the United States. Report was due to USFWS by December 31, 2007.
Isleta Pueblo - In April 2007, the USFWS issued a permit to the Pueblo of Isleta to take two mature golden eagles on
Pueblo lands in Valencia and Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The Isleta Report is due on March 31, 2008.
[16] Mark Holling and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel Report for 2003-4 (http://www. rbbp. org. uk/downloads/rbbp-report-2003-04. pdf)
accessed 4 March 2010.
[17] Mark Holling and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (2010). "Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2007". British Birds 103: 45 – 6.[18] RTÉ News (2007)
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