Golden Eagle

Overview
Golden Eagle: Large raptor with dark brown body and golden-brown feathers on back of head and nape. Eyes and bill are dark. Cere is yellow. Legs are completely feathered. Feet are yellow. Alternates deep slow wing beats with glides, soars on thermals. Has been clocked in a steep glide at 120 mph.

Range and Habitat
Golden Eagle: Occurs worldwide. In North America, it breeds from Alaska eastward across the Canadian arctic to northern Labrador, but is absent from most of Keewatin and the arctic archipelago. In the west, it occurs south to Baja and northern Mexico, including all of the western U.S. Habitats include mountainous areas, canyons, shrub lands, and grasslands.

The Golden Eagle is evaluated as Least Concern. This bird is native to much of the world and has a range that of 1 million square kilometers. The population of the Golden Eagle is believed to a quarter of a million individual birds. The previous rating for the Golden Eagle was Lower Risk. That rating was downgraded to Least Concern in 2004 due to the range as well as the population of this bird. The population of the Golden Eagle is considered stable enough at this point in time for there to be no immediate need for concern.

INTERESTING FACTS
Golden Eagles are protected in the United States where possession of a feather or other body part is a felony. In some countries they are trained as hunters and have been reported to prey on animals weighing up to 100 lbs. The scientific name Aquila chrysaetos is from the Latin word "aquila" meaning eagle and from the Greek words "chrysos" and "aetos" meaning golden and eagle respectively. A group of eagles has many collective nouns, including an "aerie", "convocation", "jubilee", "soar", and "tower" of eagles.