Golden Eagle
Aquila chrysaetos · Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
Banding codeGOEA
Keys to identifying it
1Size & shape
About 33 in long.
2Color pattern
- Huge and dark brown
- Golden feathers on the back of the head
- Legs feathered to the toes
3Habitat & season
Open country, canyons, mountain ridges
In northern Utah: year-round.
Seen most often in August, September, October, November, December, January and February.
Share of the region’s research-grade iNaturalist bird observations each month, scaled to this bird’s peak. Highlighted bars are its peak months.
4Voice
Mostly silent; weak yelps.
“silent — watch the size and the soar”
Wikimedia Commons by Bubulcus · Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). · CC BY
Know it
- Can dive at well over 150 miles per hour when hunting.
- Hunts jackrabbits and ground squirrels across Utah's open country.
- Its legs are feathered all the way to the toes.
- Nests on cliff ledges and reuses nests for years.
Often confused with
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Turkey Vulture- Ferruginous Hawk
From iNaturalist identification data for northern Utah.
From Wikipedia
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, marmots, and other ground squirrels.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0