🦅Golden eagle
The golden eagle is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this species typically have white on the tail and often have white markings on the wings. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and large, sharp talons to hunt a variety of prey, mainly hares, rabbits, and marmots and other ground squirrels.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2021.
- Body mass
- 4.25 kg
- Body length
- not recorded
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 48 years
Everything we know about the Golden eagle
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass4.25 kgAVONETOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
By sex
- Male3.57 kgWikidataQ41181
- Female5.19 kgWikidataQ41181
Figures vary
- 4.8 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Standing height0.61 mstandingDetails ↓Hide ↑
PGC: "standing height is about 2 feet." 2 ft = 0.61 m. ADW and FWS pages give body length (70-84 cm) and wingspan only, not standing height.
Source: Pennsylvania Game Commission, 'Golden Eagle', Discover PA Wildlife, https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pgc/wildlife/discover-pa-wildlife/golden-eagle · see citation
Tail length0.31 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Wing length0.6 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Beak length0.06 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Tarsus length0.1 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan48 yearsAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Gestation40 daysAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Litter sizeabout 2AnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Trophic levelCarnivoreAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
HabitatGrasslandAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
LifestyleAerialAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l4.2 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Golden eagle yet: body length, shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classAves
- ›orderAccipitriformes
- ›familyAccipitridae
- ›genusAquila
- ›speciesAquila chrysaetos
- orderSauria
- classBirds · Aves
- orderHawks & eagles · Accipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
All 11 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- orderSauria
- classBirds · Aves
- orderHawks & eagles · Accipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
More about the Golden eagle
Animals caught on camera
Real footage of the animals on this site — hunting, fighting, and getting on with it.
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