Golden Eagle Research Paper

Eagle, common name for a number of diurnal birds of prey, some of which are the largest members of their family which also includes kites, hawks, buzzards, and certain vultures. The name eagle is somewhat loosely applied, as several of the groups are not particularly closely related to one another, and some birds called hawks are larger than some called eagles.

IIGOLDEN AND RELATED EAGLES The golden eagle is distributed through most of the northern hemisphere. This is the eagle that has been regarded from ancient times as a symbol of courage and power because of its large size, superb aerial skills, and the inaccessibility of many of its nest sites, in wild and mountainous country. In Roman myths this eagle is associated with the principal

Its lower legs are unfeathered and its bright yellow bill is longer and heavier than the gray bill of golden eagles. Sea eagles inhabit coastal regions and the vicinity of lakes and streams, and feed heavily but not exclusively on fish. The bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, is a member of this group. It ranges widely in North America, from Alaska to Florida, with the largest individuals coming from the northern parts of the range. After the breeding season the northern birds migrate south, whereas many Florida eagles wander northward. The name bald, often thought to be a misnomer, does not imply a lack of feathers, but is derived from an obsolete word meaning marked with white, as in piebald. Young birds of this species lack the white head and tail of the adults, which take four to five years to attain. Compared to other eagles, the bald eagle is a relatively clumsy hunter and fisher, and for its prey relies heavily on dead or injured fish, or those that come to shallow water to spawn. It also steals fish from the osprey when the smaller bird has captured a live fish, harassing it in the air until the osprey drops the fish, whereupon the eagle snatches

Among the most powerful of these is the harpy eagle, which weighs about 4.8 kg (about 10.5 lb). As an inhabitant of lowland virgin forests from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, it has become critically endangered with the ongoing loss of its habitat. It feeds principally on arboreal mammals such as monkeys, sloths, and opossums. Its back is slatey black and its underparts are white, with a black band across the upper chest. Its pale gray head is crowned with a double crest which, when erected, gives the bird a somewhat owl-like appearance. The Eurasian counterpart of the harpy eagle, and similar to it in weight, is the Philippine or monkey-eating eagle, the national bird of the Philippines, now found in only a few remote mountain areas of the larger islands.

A group of small and medium-sized eagles of tropical and subtropical areas of Eurasia and Africa are collectively called hawkeagles. Many have narrow elongated crests. Bushy crests are characteristic of the serpent eagles of tropical Asia, which, as the name suggests, feed predominantly on reptiles. One of the strangest eagles is the bateleur of open country in tropical Africa. Its silhouette in flight is unique, as it has long, broad wings and an exceptionally short tail. Unlike other eagles, it feeds mostly on