# Eastern imperial eagle (*Aquila heliaca*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-imperial-eagle  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca), also called the Imperial eagle or Asian imperial eagle, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae and the order Accipitriformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 3.125 kg, ranging from 2.585 to 3.845 kg, and a wingspan of 1.975 m, ranging from 1.8 to 2.15 m. This migratory carnivore lives in woodland and has a geographic range of 9,556,000 km². It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and lays 2.5 eggs per clutch with one clutch per year and an incubation period of 43 days.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 2.59 kg – 3.85 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.8 m – 2.15 m |
| Lifespan | 56 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | woodland |
| Egg incubation | 43 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2.4 – 2.5 |
| Age at maturity | 4.48 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Generalist |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Accipitriformes
- family: Accipitridae
- genus: Aquila
- species: *Aquila heliaca* Savigny, 1809

Synonyms: *Aquila heliaca heliaca*, *Aquila heliaca ricketti*, *Aquila heliaca rivketti*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the eastern imperial eagle?

The eastern imperial eagle is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, part of the order Accipitriformes.

### How big is the eastern imperial eagle?

It has an adult body mass of 3.125 kg and a wingspan of 1.975 m. Body mass ranges from 2.585 to 3.845 kg and wingspan from 1.8 to 2.15 m.

### What does the eastern imperial eagle eat?

It is a carnivore.

### Is the eastern imperial eagle endangered?

It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

### How long does the eastern imperial eagle live?

Its lifespan is given as 56 years.

### How many eggs does the eastern imperial eagle lay?

It lays 2.5 eggs per clutch, with one clutch per year, and the eggs are incubated for 43 days.

### Does the eastern imperial eagle migrate?

Yes, the eastern imperial eagle is migratory.

### Who named the eastern imperial eagle?

It was named Aquila heliaca by Savigny, 1809.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-imperial-eagle