olden Eagle
This bird is native to North America and many other countries including much of Europe. It is not a common falconry bird as it is powerful and dangerous even to the most experienced handlers. There are few places to fly this bird safely at quarry. There are only a handful of people in the United States with eagle permits who have one of these birds.
Plumage
The immature bird is marked by large white patches under the wings, but all over is generally a brown color with a mostly white tail. A bird will start to take on its adult plummage at around the age of 6 years. These large birds are brown and as adults they develop the golden feathers covering the head and nape.
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A three-year old female Golden Eagle feeding on her fresh catch.
Eagle owned and flown by Jim Rogers. Photo courtesy of Jim Rogers. |
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An immature female Golden Eagle in flight.
Eagle owned and flown by Jim Rogers. Photo courtesy of Jim Rogers. |
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A mature male Golden Eagle.
Eagle owned and flown by Brian Kellogg. |
Hunting
Typical quarry caught with the Golden Eagle are jack rabbits or even coyotes and deer. In parts of Kazakhstan these birds have been used to hunt wolves and foxes. They are large and powerful and impressive even while perched. For such a large bird, these eagles can fold back their wings and stoop at up to 200 mph.
Trivia
Frequently called The King of Birds, this bird can easily weigh 10 lbs or more; the bird pictured above weighs roughly 12 pounds. Males tend to be 6 - 9 pounds, and females range 9 - 12 pounds.
Sometimes called the Booted Eagle because of the way the feathers extend to the feet.
Links
http://homepage1.nifty.com/srge/ge.htm
http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/dec/papr/eagle.html
www.americanbirding.org/pubs/birding/archives/vol36no3p278to283.pdf
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200501/the.eagle.hunters.htm
http://www.lab.fws.gov/nwafs_course_feathers.html
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DwepjctCkL0 Wild Golden Eagle with a unique hunting technique