Golden eagle
Aquila chrysaetos (Linnaeus, 1758)
The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 3.57 kg to 5.19 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the golden eagle
- Weight
- 3.57 kg – 5.19 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 2.03 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the golden eagle?
Where does the golden eagle live?
Not recorded
What is the golden eagle?
The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) 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.
Golden eagles maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as 200 km2 (77 sq mi). They build large nests in cliffs and other high places to which they may return for several breeding years. Most breeding activities take place in the spring; they are monogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Females lay up to four eggs, and then incubate them for six weeks. Typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three months. These juvenile golden eagles usually attain full independence in the fall, after which they wander widely until establishing a territory for themselves in four to five years.
Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many areas that are heavily populated by humans. Despite being extirpated from or uncommon in some of its former range, the species is still widespread, being present in sizeable stretches of Eurasia, North America, and parts of North Africa. It is the largest and least populous of the five species of true accipitrid to occur as a breeding species in both the Palearctic and the Nearctic.
For centuries, this species has been one of the most highly regarded birds used in falconry. Because of its hunting prowess, the golden eagle is regarded with great mystic reverence in some ancient, tribal cultures. It is one of the most extensively studied species of raptor in the world in some parts of its range, such as the Western United States and the Western Palearctic.
From the Wikipedia article “Golden eagle” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_eagle&oldid=1380682560), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the golden eagle endangered?
The golden eagle is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the golden eagle classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusAquila
- SpeciesAquila chrysaetos (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Aquila aurea, Aquila aurea, Aquila chryaetus, Aquila chrysea, Aquila daphanea, Aquila fulva, Aquila fulva daphanea, Aquila germana, Aquila pyrenaica, Aquila regalis, Aquila sarmatica, Chrysaetus aquilinus, Falco chrysaetos, Falco fulvus
Other names and names in other languages (136)
- American war birdEnglish
- Bird of JupiterEnglish
- Calumet birdEnglish
- GOEAEnglish
- Jackrabbit eagleEnglish
- King of birdsEnglish
- Mountain eagleEnglish
- Royal eagleEnglish
- АхалзаAbkhazian
- عقاب ذهبيةArabic
- العقاب الذهبيArabic
- العقاب الذهبي عقابArabic
- AlicaAragonese
- Aigla RialAsturian
- águila prietaAsturian
- BerqutAzerbaijani
- StoahodlerBavarian
- Арол-маркутBelarusian
- Скален орелBulgarian
- pitauSiksiká
- otaikimmio'tokaanSiksiká
- piitaaSiksiká
- Erer meurBreton
- Àguila reialCatalan
- àguila dauradaCatalan
- DartaChechen
- ПӗрхӗтChuvash
- Tó'too'heCheyenne
- هەڵۆی پەڕکوورCentral Kurdish
- AculaCorsican
- orel skalníCzech
- eryr euraidWelsh
- Eryrod EuraidWelsh
- SteinadlerGerman
- JerjełLower Sorbian
- ΧρυσαετόςGreek
- reĝa agloEsperanto
- Águila realSpanish
- maakotkasEstonian
- kaljukotkasEstonian
- kaljukotkas e. maakotkasEstonian
- Arrano beltzBasque
- عقاب طلاییPersian
- maakotkaFinnish
- KongaørnFaroese
- Aigle doréFrench
- Aigle fauveFrench
- Aigle royalFrench
- AcuileFriulian
- KeningsearnWestern Frisian
- Iolar firéanIrish
- Iolair dhubhScottish Gaelic
- Iolair-bhuidheScottish Gaelic
- iolair(e) bhuidheScottish Gaelic
- iolairean buidheScottish Gaelic
- iolar fíréanScottish Gaelic
- Aguia realGalician
- UrleyManx
- Urley buighManx
- עיט זהבHebrew
- עיט זהובHebrew
- עיט סלעים )עיט זהוב( *Hebrew
- WorjołUpper Sorbian
- szirti sasHungarian
- ՔարարծիվArmenian
- Elang EmasIndonesian
- Orea agloIdo
- GullörnIcelandic
- aquila realeItalian
- イヌワシJapanese
- მთის არწივიGeorgian
- Киикчінkjh
- БүркітKazakh
- 검독수리Korean
- EyloKurdish
- GwrerCornish
- OwrerCornish
- AquilaLatin
- AdlerLuxembourgish
- ErendLimburgish
- Eguialld
- Aquila NègraLombard
- kilnusis erelisLithuanian
- klinšu ērglisLatvian
- куткыжMari
- пӱркытMari
- златен орелMacedonian
- സ്വർണ്ണപ്പരുന്ത്Malayalam
- Ajkla rjaliMaltese
- Цармын бүргэдMongolian
- Skatsi’é:raMohawk
- fus hervMuscogee
- fus-hērvMuscogee
- ရွှေရောင်ဝံလူBurmese
- AtsátsohNavajo
- steenarendDutch
- KongeørnNorwegian
- Aigl'yenrm
- Agla reialaOccitan
- GiniwOjibwa
- ДурдзæргæсOssetic
- AadlerPennsylvania German
- orzeł przedniPolish
- Aghia realPiedmontese
- سنہری عقابWestern Panjabi
- águia-realPortuguese
- EvlaRomansh
- acvila de munteRomanian
- Acvilă de munteRomanian
- ХолзанRussian
- ХотойYakut
- EarnScots
- GoaskinNorthern Sami
- orol skalnýSlovak
- planinski orelSlovenian
- shqypja)Albanian
- shqipja e malit (shkypjaAlbanian
- Shqiponja e GurëveAlbanian
- shqiponja e malitAlbanian
- сури ораоSerbian
- Suri oraoSerbian
- ŔcuilaSardinian
- kungsörnSwedish
- Tai MfalmeSwahili
- பொன்னாங் கழுகுTamil
- นกอินทรีทองThai
- BürgütTurkmen
- Altın KartalTurkish
- kaya kartaliTurkish
- БургутTuvinian
- БеркутUkrainian
- Aquila realVenetian
- Ưng vàngVietnamese
- StêenoarndZeelandic
- 金雕Chinese
- 金鵰Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the golden eagle
Other species in the same genus Aquila.
Steppe eagle
Aquila nipalensis
Eastern imperial eagle
Aquila heliaca
Bonelli's eagle
Aquila fasciata
Tawny eagle
Aquila rapax
Spanish eagle
Aquila adalberti
Wedgie
Aquila audax
CompareGolden eagle vs Steppe eagleGolden eagle vs Eastern imperial eagleGolden eagle vs Bonelli's eagleGolden eagle vs Tawny eagle
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the golden eagle?
An adult golden eagle weighs 3.57 kg – 5.19 kg and has a wingspan of 2.03 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the golden eagle endangered?
The golden eagle is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the golden eagle?
The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · 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 · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/golden-eagle
“Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/golden-eagle.
@misc{golden_eagle_2026,
title = {Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/golden-eagle},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}