772 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Nov. 17, 1906. 
The Golden Eagle. 
(Aquila chrysaetos.) 
[From “The North American Eagles and Their 
•Economic Relations” By Harry C. Oberholser, Assist¬ 
ant Ornithologist, Biological Survey. Biological Survey 
Bulletin No. 27.] 
Few if any eagles are better known than the 
golden eagle, nor more nearly comport with the 
idea of strength and independence associated with 
such birds. With one possible exception no eagle 
has so wide a geographical distribution; it is 
found at some season of the year throughout 
most of Europe, northern Africa, Asia south to 
the Himalayas, and in North America south to 
Mexico. It breeds, however, principally in hilly 
or mountainous regions, preferably in unsettled 
parts, and in North America chiefly in the north 
and west, but also along the Appalachian moun¬ 
tain ranges to southern North Carolina. 
The adult golden eagle, or mountain eagle, as 
it is sometimes called in the western United 
States, is about 3 feet in length, 7 feet in ex¬ 
panse of wing, and sometimes weighs 12 pounds 
or more. It is entirely dark brown in color, 
with pointed yellowish brown feathers covering 
the hind neck, whence the name golden eagle. 
Young birds are more blackish and have the base 
of the tail white, from which they have been 
called ring-tailed eagles, a plumage retained for 
at least three years; but the species may always 
be distinguished from the bald eagle, the only 
other eagle of common occurrence in the United 
States, by the feathering of the legs, which in 
the golden eagle extends quite down to- the base 
of the toes. 
General Habits. 
While it does not winter in the most northern 
parts of its range, the golden eagle is not, strictly 
speaking, migratory, for, being able to endure 
the severest cold, its movements into regions not 
occupied in summer are more in the nature of 
wanderings, induced doubtless by search for food, 
and probably are seldom extensive. It can 
scarcely be considered common anywhere in the 
eastern United States, and in most sections is 
very rare, but in some parts of the west it is 
fairly abundant. The mountains and rocky hills 
are its chosen abode, whence it issues on its 
forays; and it is as much at home in the desert 
as in well-watered regions. It has a strong well- 
sustained flight, and may often be seen soaring 
in circles at great height above the earth. It is 
usually wary, and is rather a solitary bird, sel¬ 
dom seen in more than pairs, though on some 
occasions it has been observed in small flocks, 
even in the eastern United States. Its cry is a 
sharp, harsh scream of few notes, and is heard 
most often during the breeding season. So far 
as known it mates for life, or at least for many 
years, though at the death of either of the pair, 
the other more or less promptly secures a new 
consort. In nature it is fierce and untamable, and 
it will sometimes attack even man, particularly 
if disturbed when feeding. In captivity it may 
easily be kept for years, but with disposition quite 
unchanged. 
The golden eagle builds its nest usually on 
rocky cliffs, sometimes on steep river bluffs, often 
in practically inaccessible places; but in many 
localities, such as the Pacific coast region of the. 
United States, trees are utilized, the height from 
the ground varying from 10 to over 100 feet. 
The site chosen is preferably in an uninhabited 
spot, but occasionally not far from a farmhouse. 
In the latitude of central California the eggs are 
deposited late in February, in March or April, 
but in Arizona sometimes in January, and along 
the northern part of the bird’s range as late as 
May or even June. The same nest is occupied 
year after year, provided the bird be undisturbed, 
but if the eggs be taken, breeding is ordinarily 
abandoned until the following season, when a new 
nest is constructed near by, sometimes even on 
the same tree; and the bird, if again molested, 
reoccupies the original aery. 
The nest is a well built though bulky structure, 
commonly when first constructed not very large 
—about 2 Yz or 3 feet high and 3V2 or 4 feet 
in outside diameter—but by the additions made 
during successive years finally sometimes 7 feet 
high and 8 feet in diameter, and containing fully 
two wagonloads of material. It is practically a 
strong platform having a slight depression for 
the eggs, and is composed largely of sticks, some 
of them 2 or 3 inches in diameter, twigs, roots, 
weed stalks, branches of evergreen, leaves, and 
rubbish of various kinds, with more or less lining 
of straw, grass, moss, bits of bark, pine needles, 
green or dry leaves, and feathers, and with often 
the addition of a piece of soap root ( Chlorogalum 
pomeridianum ) (in California) or fresh ever¬ 
green, apparently as an ornament or badge of 
occupancy. 
The eggs are usually two in number, occas¬ 
ionally one or three, very rarely four, and range 
in color from plain white to very heavily marked 
with various shades of brown. They are not 
usually deposited on successive days, but at in¬ 
tervals of sometimes as much as a week. The 
period of incubation has been given variously 
as from twenty-five to thirty-five days; probably 
thirty days is the average time. The young when 
first hatched are covered with a white down 
which lasts for several weeks until gradually re¬ 
placed by the new brown feathers. The young 
grow rapidly, but remain a long time in the nest 
-—from two to three months. They are some¬ 
times savage, and while in the aery resent any 
familiarity, but sometimes may be handled almost 
with impunity; probably individual temperament 
has much to do- w'ith this difference. Contrary 
to the many stories current regarding the fierce¬ 
ness of the golden eagle in defense of its brood, 
it strangely enough very rarely attacks persons 
who approach or even rob its nest. Indeed, at 
such times it seems to be actually cowardly, or 
at least quite unsolicitous for the safety of eggs 
or young, and at anyone’s approach quietly leaves 
the vicinity. The male apparently does not assist 
in incubation, but shares in brooding the young, 
and in shading them when the heat of the sun 
becomes too great. 
Food Habits. 
The golden eagle is apparently not so swift in 
flight as the bald eagle, and less often chases its 
prey on the wing, preferring to hunt mostly by 
soaring or slow flying and dropping suddenly 
upon the selected victim. It also has favorite 
perches from which it watches for prey. The 
two birds of a pair hunt often together, and 
many a victim is thus taken that would escape a 
single bird. The favorite time for hunting is 
the forenoon, unless the day be cool and cloudy. 
Although inured to long fasts, this species is. 
like most other birds of prey, a voracious eater, 
and ai every opportunity gorges itself to reple¬ 
tion. Birds are partially or wholly plucked before 
being eaten; the larger mammals are- often de¬ 
capitated and stripped of their fur; but small 
mammals are swallowed, bones, hair and all, and 
the indigestible parts finally disgorged in pellets 
at intervals of a few days. The young are kept 
well supplied with food, often with much more 
than they can eat, brought at least two or three 
times a day. 
Food—Mammals. 
Mammals form one of the two most important 
elements of the food of this species. The larger 
kinds appear not to be often attacked unless 
wounded or sick, but their young are frequently 
victimized. This is particularly the case with 
various species of deer in both Europe and 
America. Mr. Charles F. Morrison records the 
killing of a full-sized black-tailed deer (Odo- 
coileus hemionus ) in Montana, and there are 
numerous accounts by other writers of attacks 
on crippled, weak or sickly deer. Also the deer 
that are wounded bv hunters and that escape 
only to die are often devoured, and, on occasions 
like the one in New Jersey recorded by Mr. John 
H. Sage, the eagle gorges itself to such an extent 
that it can be killed with a club. The number 
of fawns killed, particularly where deer are at 
all numerous, must be-large, for most observers 
unite in saying that fawns form an important 
article of the golden eagle’s food. The young 
also of other ungulates, such as antelope, wild 
sheep, and reindeer, are sometimes taken. The 
shooting of a mountain goat or other large game 
animal in a country where this eagle abounds 
frequently attracts the bird to the spot with the 
hope of a repast. Foxes are occasionally eaten, 
as the stomach examinations made in Germany 
by Dr. Rorig testify. Audubon says that raccoons 
are sometimes taken as food. 
Probably no mammals are more frequently fed 
upon than hares and rabbits, due no doubt to 
their abundance, wide distribution and ease of 
capture. Nearly all writers on the golden eagle 
mention rabbits as a component of its food. Mr. 
W. Steinbeck reported that at Hollister, Cal., 
rabbits formed one of the principal parts of the 
bird’s diet, as they do in many other localities. 
These animals are frequently brought to the 
young, and at almost every aery the skulls and 
other bones of rabbits are conspicuous. , In 
Europe the common rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuni- 
culus ) is sometimes captured, though apparently 
not so often as other species of the family. Mr. 
E. S. Cameron, who has recently published a 
very interesting account of the nesting and food 
habits of this eagle, mentions that on one oc¬ 
casion when one of his birds made a swoop at 
a jack rabbit and missed, whereupon the rabbit 
sought refuge in a prairie dog burrow, the eagle 
took up a position near by to await its appear¬ 
ance. While usually content to secure its prey 
by stealth, the golden eagle sometimes exerts its 
powers of flight in open chase. In one instance, 
witnessed by Mr. W. L. Atkinson, near Santa 
Clara, Cal., a pair of eagles pursued a large jack 
rabbit across a field and caught it after an ex¬ 
citing hunt. The large northern hares, in both 
Old and New Worlds, even more frequently than 
other rabbits, fall a prey to this eagle. In Scot¬ 
land, according to Saunders, these animals form 
a considerable part of its food, and in many of 
the deer forests of the European Continent, at 
least during some seasons of the year, little else 
is eaten. An eagle of this species killed March 
19, 1897, at Aitkin, Minn., is recorded by Mr. 
Albert Lano to have made a meal off the com¬ 
mon white hare ( Lepus americanus virginimus) 
of that region; and the stomach of a female shot 
by Mr. J. Alden Loring at Jasper House, Alberta, 
in 1895, contained the remains, of young hares 
(Lepus americanus columbiensis). 
In some parts of the western United States, 
particularly in California, where ground squirrels, 
or spermophiles ( Citellus ), are numerous, these 
animals form an important food supply, and their 
destruction is probably the best service rendered 
by the golden eagle. At Sargents and Hollister, 
Cal., according to Major Bendire, they are the 
principal regimen, and Mr. J. E. McLellan re¬ 
ported the same condition in San Mateo county 
and at Pescadero, Cal. Mr. W. L. Finley, in 
a recent article on the nesting of the golden 
eagle, has some interesting observations on the 
food habits during the breeding season. The 
nest of a pair near Oakland, Cal., was kept by 
him under surveillance from the time the eggs 
were laid until the young had flown, and during 
