One of only two kinds of eagle to breed in North America, the majestic golden eagle certainly is not one to be ashamed of.  With a body mass of 30-35 inches long and 6-13 lbs, then a wingspan of 6-7 feet, make the golden eagle one of the largest and most regal birds of prey.

Food & Hunting:  This carnivorous bird will feed on mainly small animals especially mountain hare.  The golden eagle's diet also consists of young fox, mink, lizards, snakes, and game birds.  The golden eagle catches most of it's food on the ground from the air, by swooping down with it's talon's, reaching speeds up to 95 miles per hour on one dive.

        After a successful hunt, the golden eagle rips apart it's prey into mangled pieces by using huge talons with thick curved claws for grip.  If the eagle has young in its' nest, then it will bring back half of the prey to the nest to feed its young.
 

Breeding:  Golden eagles usually build their nests' on rocky ledge's, cliffs, or tree's. In some places, eagles have used the same rocky ledge's for hundreds of years.

      The first egg of a golden eagle is usually laid in March.  The incubation begins before the second egg is laid, therefore the first chick hatches three or four days before the second.  When the second chick hatches, it usually starves to death or is killed by the older one.
 

Habitat:For such a large bird that hunts from the air , a golden eagle is most at home in wide open spaces, some of witch may cover up to 200 square miles for its home range.  Even though they can be found in forests and wetlands, they prefer mountains and moors where there is little cover for its prey.

        In the wild, Golden eagles have been known to live from 15-20 years.  Golden eagles living in captivity however, have been known to live from 40-45 years!  Most of the reasons  that the Golden eagle is not living as long in the wild due to humans.  In old England, only kings were allowed to hunt golden eagles, but now they are almost an endangered spices.  Man has polluted their area's for living, and chemicals & poisoning remain the greatest threat to the golden eagle even today.