A large, well-known bird of prey
Golden eagles, also called "white eagles, black-winged eagles, eagle eagles, and white eagles", belong to a large diurnal bird of prey in the genus Eagle. The golden eagle is a well-known carnivorous bird of prey in the northern hemisphere. It is widely distributed in Eurasia, North America, and northern Africa. my country is mainly distributed in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Shanxi, Hebei, Shaanxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places. . The golden eagle is famous for its outstanding appearance and agile and powerful flight. They generally live in mountainous or hilly areas, especially on the cliffs of valleys and protruding parts of mountain walls. Feeds on large and medium-sized birds and beasts. It is the first-level key protected animal in China.
The male and female golden eagles are of the same color, the adult body length can reach 1 meter, the wingspan can reach 2.3 meters, and the weight is 2 to 6.5 kg (males are larger than females). There are big differences in body shape between different subspecies. In fact, the size of the golden eagle is not prominent among the large birds of prey, such as the horned eagle, the tiger-headed sea eagle, and the ape-eating eagle are all above the golden eagle. But the golden eagle seems to have an innate king posture, sharp eyes, dagger-like claws, arrogant personality, relationship with people, and good hunting record, establishing the status of the golden eagle as the "king of birds of prey".
In the scientific classification, the only members eligible to be called raptors are members of the three major families "Eagleformes, Falconiformes, and Occoliformes". Those who are not among them cannot be called raptors. Many people have wondered how to distinguish between "eagles and eagles". The simpler method is: the size of the eagle is a circle larger than the eagle; most of the eagles have hair on their legs, while the eagles have no hair on their legs; and the other is that the eagle can prey. Foxes, goats, small wild boars and the like, while eagles prey on small birds, insects, and rodents.
The golden eagle is not all golden
The "gold" of the golden eagle does not mean that its plumage is golden, and the color of the golden eagle's feathers is mainly brown. The "golden" originates from the golden yellow feathers from the back of the head to the neck, which look very dazzling in the sun, so it is called the golden eagle.
The upper body of the golden eagle is dark brown, the shoulders are lighter, the back and shoulders are slightly decorated with purple luster, the lower body chin, throat and front neck are dark brown, the feather base is white, the chest and abdomen are also dark brown, and the rachis patterns are lighter. The leg covering feathers, tail covering feathers, underwing covering feathers and armpit feathers are dark brown, and the covering leg feathers have red vertical stripes.
The top of the head is dark brown, and the feathers are long from the back to the nape of the neck, and the feathers are willow-like. The tail overburden is light brown, the tip is almost dark brown, the tail feathers are grayish brown, with irregular dark gray-brown horizontal spots or markings, and a broad dark brown end spot. The wings are covered with dark russet feathers, and the ends of the feathers are lighter, light russet, the primary flight feathers are dark brown, and the base of the inner primary flight feathers is off-white, decorated with messy dark brown horizontal spots or markings, and the secondary flight feathers are dark brown with a base. Off-white markings. The iris is chestnut brown, the tip of the mouth is black, and the base is blue-brown or blue-gray.
Golden eagles will catch animals as large as their own. Golden eagles near the Arctic mainly prey on snow rabbits and thunderbirds. In China and Kazakhstan, golden eagles will catch foxes, goats, deer and even wolves.
Golden eagles sometimes attack humans
Young birds are roughly similar to adults, but their body color is darker. In the first year, the tail feathers of young birds are white with wide black end spots, and the base of the inner feathers of the flying feathers is white, and white spots are formed under the wings. After the second year, the white spots on the tail and the underwing white spots gradually decrease, and the under-tail covering feathers also vary from brown to brown. From auburn to dark auburn.
Fighter in the Raptor
The legs of the golden eagle are all feathered, and the feet have three toes forward and one toe backward, with yellow toes and black claws. There are thick and long horny claws on the toes, and the claws on the inner and hind toes are sharper. When hunting, its claws can pierce into the vital parts of the prey at the same time like a sharp blade, tear the flesh, tear blood vessels, and even twist the neck of the prey.
Golden eagles live in grasslands, deserts, river valleys, especially alpine coniferous forests. In winter, they also often move in mountainous hills and foothill plains, reaching an altitude of more than 4000 meters. During the day, golden eagles often rest on the tops of high mountains, rocky cliffs, and tall trees in open areas, or hunt on barren hillsides, cemeteries, shrubs and other places. Under normal circumstances, a golden eagle rules an area of 150 square kilometers high, flying slowly at a speed of 30-50 kilometers per hour. The vision of the golden eagle is more than 8 times that of human beings, and it can lock the position of the prey from 100 meters away.
Golden eagles usually act alone or in pairs. In winter, they sometimes form smaller groups, but occasionally you can see about 20 golden eagles gather together to capture larger prey. Golden eagles are good at soaring and gliding. They usually hover in a straight line or circle at high altitude while looking down on the ground to look for prey. They use flexible wings and tail changes to adjust the direction, height, speed and posture of the flight. After finding the target, they often descend from the sky at a speed of up to 320 kilometers per hour, and stop the flapping wings at the last moment, then firmly grasp the prey’s head and pierce the prey’s skull with claws, causing it to die immediately.
The nest of the golden eagle is not easy for ordinary people to see. In 2021, the golden eagle couple successfully hatched two golden eagle babies, which is not easy for the golden eagles.
The eggs are dirty white or bluish-white, with reddish brown spots and markings.
The legs of the golden eagle are all feathered, and the feet have three toes forward and one toe backward, with yellow toes and black claws.
Sometimes it nests in mountain cliffs, recesses, stone edges, erosion cracks, shallow caves, etc.
Golden eagles will catch animals as big as themselves. The golden eagles near the Arctic mainly prey on snow rabbits and thunderbirds; in China and Kazakhstan, the golden eagles will catch foxes, goats, deer and even wolves about the same size as themselves.
Of course, the golden eagle does not always hunt successfully. Sometimes the prey escapes uphill, and the golden eagle will give up because of fear of folding its wings. Occasionally, when catching a wolf, it will be bitten and killed by the wolf because it is too late to catch the wolf's head. But overall, the hunting efficiency of the golden eagle is higher than that of the average bird of prey. Golden eagles sometimes attack humans.
Will give up the original territory for the other party after being widowed
Golden eagles nest in coniferous forests, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests or sparse forests on tall trees such as red pine, larch, poplar and oak trees, with a height of 10-20 meters from the ground. Sometimes nests are also nested in mountain cliffs, recessed rock edges, eroded cracks, shallow caves, etc. There are many protruding rocks above the nest to shelter the rain, most of which are leeward to the sun, and the location is steep and difficult to climb. The nest is piled up into a disc shape by dry branches, the structure is very large, the outer diameter is nearly 2 meters, and the height is 1.5 meters. The nest is padded with twigs, pine needles, grass stems, fur and other things.
Golden eagles have the habit of using old nests, and they must be repaired every year before they are used. Some nests can be used for many years, so the nests have become bigger and bigger. The biggest "huge nest" is like a house/child built in a big tree. the top of.
Golden eagles are monogamous. Like other birds, golden eagles also show off when courting. After they looked at each other, they flew high into the air, and then the male golden eagle rushed to the female golden eagle at high speed, pretending to attack the female golden eagle, repeatedly. Female golden eagles occasionally grab the claws of male golden eagles. Finally, there is a performance of swooping and grabbing the stone. The male eagle flies down in the air with the stone in his mouth, and then dives to catch the stone again before it hits the ground. In short, it is a male golden eagle performing fancy flying skills high in the sky.
The golden eagle began to lay eggs in mid-February. In Russia, the breeding period is relatively late, usually starting to lay eggs in mid-April; in Northeast China, the breeding period is from March to May. After the pairing is successful, 3-9 nests will be built. Choose a safe place to lay 1 to 3 eggs. The eggs are dirty white or blue-gray white with reddish brown spots and markings.
After the first egg is laid, the eggs are hatched, and the male and female golden eagles take turns to incubate the eggs. The incubation period is about 45 days. Three months after the birth of the chicks, they will begin to practice their flying skills. Until the age of 3-4, all that should be taught, the young eagle will leave his parents to live alone. If one of the spouses has an accident, the surviving spouse will give up their original territory.
The "gold" of the golden eagle comes from the golden yellow feathers from the back of the head to the neck
