Golden Eagle

The golden eagle is one of the best-known and most widely distributed birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. A powerful raptor belonging to the family Accipitridae, it occurs across large areas of Eurasia, North America and parts of North Africa. Its dark brown plumage, contrasted with lighter golden feathers on the nape, gives the species its distinctive name. Juveniles typically display white patches on the tail and wings, which diminish as they mature. The golden eagle’s strength, speed and hunting technique have long attracted human fascination, contributing to an extensive cultural and scientific legacy.
Golden eagles inhabit a diverse array of open and mountainous landscapes. Their broad distribution, combined with extensive research over the past century, has made them one of the most studied raptor species in the world. They maintain large territories, nest on cliffs and rocky ledges, and exhibit a pronounced fidelity to their nesting sites. Their hunting ability and majestic appearance have earned them a central place in falconry traditions and in the symbolism of many ancient and modern cultures.

Physical Characteristics and Behaviour

Golden eagles are large, broad-winged raptors that display remarkable aerial agility. Adults are predominantly dark brown, with a striking golden-brown patch on the nape. Immature birds usually exhibit white on the tail and variable white markings on the wings, features that assist in age identification. Their powerful build enables them to hunt mammals such as hares, rabbits, marmots and ground squirrels.
Territories are extensive and may span many tens of square kilometres depending on prey availability and landscape structure. Pairs often remain together for many years and may be monogamous for life. They construct large nests from sticks, typically placing them on high cliffs or escarpments, though trees may be used in certain regions. These nests are often reused and enlarged over several breeding seasons.
Breeding activity begins in early spring. Females lay up to four eggs and incubate them for around six weeks. Usually one or two chicks survive to fledge at about three months of age. Juveniles disperse widely during their first years, wandering until they establish territories at approximately four to five years old.
Despite its reduced presence in densely populated regions, particularly in parts of Europe, the species remains widespread across the Holarctic realm. It is the largest and least common of the five true accipitrid species that breed in both the Palearctic and Nearctic regions.

Taxonomy and Systematics

The golden eagle was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 as Falco chrysaetos in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae. At that time, many large raptors were grouped under the genus Falco based on superficial similarities. The species was reassigned to the newly established genus Aquila by Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The name Aquila derives from Latin for “eagle”, while chrysaetos is from the Greek khrusos (gold) and aetos (eagle).
Golden eagles belong to the “booted eagles”, a group characterised by feathered tarsi. This assemblage includes several other genera such as Spizaetus and Nisaetus. The genus Aquila was historically considered to contain up to twenty species; however, advances in genetic research have prompted a significant reassessment of relationships within this lineage.
Recent molecular studies indicate that the golden eagle forms a distinct clade with Verreaux’s eagle, Gurney’s eagle and the wedge-tailed eagle, suggesting an Australasian influence in part of its evolutionary history. These findings align with earlier morphological observations. Conversely, Bonelli’s eagle and the African hawk eagle, formerly placed within Hieraaetus, have been shown to be more closely related to this clade than to other species traditionally included in Aquila.
Other large eagles such as the eastern imperial eagle, Spanish imperial eagle, tawny eagle and steppe eagle appear to represent a separate cluster within the broader group, having developed similar traits through convergent evolution. Spotted eagles, although sometimes historically aligned with larger Aquila species, are now considered more closely related to the long-crested eagle and the black eagle, prompting further taxonomic revisions.
The genus Hieraaetus, which contains several of the smallest eagle species, has also been subject to reclassification. Some authorities now subsume it within Aquila, though international ornithological bodies have not reached universal agreement. Genetic studies additionally indicate that Wahlberg’s eagle and Cassin’s hawk eagle are more closely related to the Hieraaetus group than previously believed.

Subspecies and Distribution

Six extant subspecies of the golden eagle are widely recognised, though individual variation is common and clinal patterns complicate strict classification. Recent genetic analyses have proposed reducing these to two major subspecies groups: Aquila chrysaetos chrysaetos (including A. c. homeyeri) and Aquila chrysaetos canadensis (including A. c. japonica, A. c. daphanea and A. c. kamtschatica).
Aquila chrysaetos chrysaetos is the nominate and most widespread Eurasian subspecies. It occupies much of Europe, including Scotland, Scandinavia, France, Italy and the Alps, extending eastwards through European Russia to near the Yenisei River and south into western Kazakhstan and northern Iran. It is medium-sized and relatively pale compared with more easterly subspecies, with a tawny upper side and particularly long golden feathers on the nape.
Aquila chrysaetos homeyeri, often termed the Iberian golden eagle, occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula and parts of Crete. It also ranges through a coastal band of North Africa from Morocco to Tunisia and is likely represented by an isolated population in Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains. This form extends through Asia Minor, the Caucasus, parts of the Middle East and down into the Arabian Peninsula. It is slightly smaller and darker than the nominate form but paler than far-eastern varieties.
Aquila chrysaetos daphanea, the Asian golden eagle, represents the eastern Palearctic populations and shows the darkest plumage among the principal Eurasian subspecies.