Another raptorial battle has embarked upon our doorstep and this time it’s the ever-anticipated clash of Golden Eagle vs Bald Eagle.
These are two of the most popular eagle species worldwide, one maybe a little over the other at certain parts or continents.
They may not look exactly the same, but there’s more to it than just looks which create a chasm among these two threatening raptors.
Apart from the basic differences, this article will teach you on the multifaceted aspects Bald and Golden Eagles stand as unique birds.
Without wasting any more time, let’s now jump right into the most interesting facts and details on the species and see what they’re truly capable of!
Contents
Golden Eagle vs Bald Eagle: Basic Information
A basic conception about the two eagles under spotlight will help you in understanding their difference in a much better and convenient manner.
Golden Eagle
Source: @pekka.auramaa
- Scientific Name: Aquila chrysaetos
- Size: 66 to 102 cm (26 to 40 in)
- Locality: Northern Hemisphere
- Status: Least Concern
- Breeding Season: March to August
Golden Eagle derives its name from the golden colorization of its plumage around the neck area. This species is one of the most widely located eagles and as a bird of prey, the bird is renowned for its agile hunting abilities. They encompass quite a large territory upon selecting a nest – around an area of about 200 square kilometers.
Due to its speciality in hunting, the species has been widely used in falconry for a long time. Many consider this eagle to be the best flier in the raptor category. There’s a proposition by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for killing it to minimize overall losses without any penalty.
Bald Eagle
Source: @darioskphotography
- Scientific Name: Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Size: 70 to 102 cm (28 to 40 in)
- Locality: North America
- Status: Least Concern
- Breeding Season: Mid-September to January
Don’t get fooled by the name bald because this eagle has sufficient feathers on its nape! The reason behind naming it in such a way is its white feathers reaching down till the neck. Much like the Golden Eagle, it’s another bird of prey but the species lives mostly around the sea regions. This particular bird is the national bird of the USA.
Keeping Bald Eagle in captivity requires licensing in the USA, Canada and England. For the first country, it’s permitted only in the case of educational institutions and treating the wounded birds. For the latter two, the permits are mostly utilized for the birds to be placed into falconry.
Visual Variances between Bald and Golden Eagle
To understand the differences between Golden and Bald Eagle, our first priority is to identify them individually based on their physical appearances.
Size & Shape: When it comes to size, the two eagles are somewhat similar growing up to a maximum of 100 cm in length and 14 lbs in weight. But the sizes can vary across regions, sexes and subspecies, so you must keep that into your consideration while spotting from afar.
Color: Golden Eagle’s name has come from the golden patch behind its nape. With most of the feathers toward a darker tone between dark brown and black-ish brown, the chest, tail and even the wings are textured with white plumages. The bare feet are usually yellow.
Bald Eagle’s colorization is much more organized when it comes to comparing against Golden Eagle. A clear-cut white head and neck with the same colored tail, there’s no way you can incorrectly spot this species. To add to that, Golden-brown wings and feathers paired with a pair of yellow beaks render it the most unique-looking eagle in the world.
Bald Eagle or Golden Eagle: What Are the Differences?
It’s time for us to move on to the more advanced variances of Golden and Bald Eagles. In this part, I’m putting the two eagles head to head on different key aspects that help in marking them a species unique from one another.
Taxonomy
While both of these birds have been primarily described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, both of their scientific names are meaningful and remain true to the unique visuals. For instance, Bald Eagle’s genus Haliaeetus is translated as ‘sea-eagle’ from Ancient Greek and the species leucocephalus means ‘white head’, completing the basic description for the bird.
On the other hand, Golden Eagle’s genus has been altered back in the past with the current one sticking to it as of this moment. The name Aquila has two meanings: in Latin it means ‘eagle’ while in Ancient Greek it translates to ‘dark colored’. The species name chrysaetos indicates ‘gold eagle’, all of it coming together to describe a golden eagle in dark feathers.
Source: @wilderness.photos
Distribution Range
In terms of distribution range, these two raptors completely differ from one another. For Golden Eagle, it has the most widespread range as mentioned before. The ranges comprise Eurasia, North America and parts of northern Africa. These regions are divided into three categories of year-round breeding, summer breeding and non-breeding zones.
Bald Eagle on the other hand is the only endemic sea-eagle of North America. The range is widespread in Canada and the USA with some density of population around the northern parts of Mexico. While it’s strictly confined to the continent, some of the species have made successful flights across the ocean toward the British Isles.
Habitat Zone
Although Golden Eagles are highly adaptable raptors, they still need some particular criteria to be met for inhabiting a zone. Some space with openings for flying and hunting is a must for these birds. So it automatically disqualifies places with dense woodlands or even human habitats. Recent studies show an increasing number of birds living on mountains.
Bald Eagles need two boxes to be ticked for their habitation zone: a wetland, marsh, lake or river abundant with fishes and mature coniferous forest. The former is required for huge consumptions during the breeding season. The latter allows them to perch on trees and dive in to hunt down on food as well as planting their nests.
Source: @toribadz
Nesting Pattern
Broadly speaking, Golden Eagles plant their nests on cliffs. Mostly the regions covered in rock are ideal for their habitation and breeding. But these are not the only nesting sites as Golden Eagle nests have been spotted in other lowland regions as well. Treelines, oakwoods, marshes and similar settings have allowed the species to nest for the season conveniently.
In case of Bald Eagle, their nests are created nearby water bodies – preferably in old-growth forests. These birds are record holders for composing the largest nest by a North American bird. That’s not all! The global record for the largest tree nest by any species goes to Bald Eagle as well! Despite being sensitive to human activities, they nest around human settlements from time to time.
No. of Subspecies
Between the two, Golden Eagle has 6 subspecies recognized by the genealogists. These 6 subspecies vary mostly in size and plumage from one another. The degree of such deviation is minimal, so you won’t see much out of the ordinary from one subspecies to the nest. However, there’s no distributional discrepancy among them.
Bald Eagles have less diversity in subspecies with only 2 recognized so far. H. l. leucocephalus is the nominate species that’s slightly smaller in size and distributed toward the southern parts of the range. The other is a little larger and covers the northern parts of their convenient territory.
Migration
While the reasons behind migration for the two species are similar, the patterns are much different from each other. Bald Eagles rely heavily on water bodies for their food sources and their habitat must have one nearby. But if it freezes over during the winter, the local population is seen migrating toward the southeastern ranges, otherwise it remains a year-round resident.
On the other hand, Golden Eagles are perceived as sedentary but they actually show migration tendencies at certain occasions. Usually the northern population migrates only if the food sources are unavailable due to the severity of the cold weather.
Flying Speed
The speed differences of Golden Eagle and Bald Eagle are compared side by side for a better comprehension head to head. Firstly, we’ll compare soaring or gliding speed where each of the birds don’t put in much effort. Bald Eagle has a higher soaring speed between 35-43 miles per hour while it’s 28-32 mph for Golden Eagle.
In the matter of diving speed, Golden Eagle has beaten Bald Eagle by a mile! The former’s diving speed is between 150-200 mph and the latter reaches up to a maximum of 100 miles per hour. So both of them have flight techniques unique to each species.
Diet
While most of the raptors are known for consuming small mammals, Golden Eagle isn’t much different from this speculation. Rabbits, hares, squirrels make up a large part of their food palette. Apart from these, birds, snakes or even fishes can be part of their menu if the occasion calls for it.
On the note of fish consumption, this is the major diet for most Bald Eagles, thus their dependence on water bodies beside habitats. As supplements, these birds hunt down on other birds, reptiles or even mammals from time to time to keep their nutrition levels up. But if fishes are available to be hunted, Bald Eagles won’t consider anything else to be tasty.
Breeding
Golden Eagles usually form lifelong partnerships between the couple. Both the male and female birds display courtship practices of diving and catching dropped objects. When matched together, they plant a nest and copulate for around 10-20 seconds. The eggs are laid around 5-6 weeks after mating rituals.
For breeding routines, Bald Eagles return to their birthplace to pick out a suitable mate. Although many believe the species to be monogamous, studies suggest that the death of a partner leads the living bird to copulate again with a new mate. The courtship display is mostly performed by the male bird as opposed to Golden Eagle’s rituals.
Lifespan
The average lifespan for both of these species are speculated to sit around 20 years. But it’s a fact that depends on a lot of variables like the distribution range, migration and rate of survival in each condition. Because records suggest that the average lifespan of Golden Eagles is lower in Europe, around 13 years while Bald Eagles live up to 20 in North America.
If the longest living eagles are taken into consideration, the Golden Eagle’s longest wilderness survival lived up to 32 years and the captive survivor an astounding 46 years. Bald Eagle’s survival stats are better in this case – longest wilderness life of 38 years and longest in captivity at 50 years.
Population & Decline
As you already know, Golden Eagle is one of the most globally widespread species leaving its mark on different continents. While they’re declining in population around some distribution ranges, globally there’s no imminent threat according to IUCN. The estimated population at this moment is around 200,000.
Even though Bald Eagles aren’t as widely available as Golden Eagles, the former’s population has been estimated around 100,000 in North America. Despite the ‘Least Concern’ status, the species has faced rapid decline in number in certain parts due to massive use of pesticides, showing them an ‘Endangered’ status until the 1990s.
Source: @markian.b
Cultural Significance
Apart from being the national bird of the USA, Bald Eagle holds significance in the Native American culture as well. The bird’s feathers in black-white color carry spiritual symbolism among many people. Many products of popular culture have utilized Bald Eagle as symbolic representation over the course of time.
Golden Eagle wasn’t confined to falconry sport back in time. If you take a look back at history, many civilizations have deemed this bird to be something special. Be that the Aztecs or central American civilizations, this species used to be associated with different godly beings with many discovered mythological meanings.
Vocalization
The difference in vocalization between these two birds can only be understood if heard with ears. Thus, the following audio clips will tell you about the unique vocal patterns for the mentioned eagles.
FAQ
If you have any queries further, I’m certain that this FAQ section will answer the remainder of it for a clearer conception on the two eagle species.
Q: Which is more powerful, the Bald Eagle or the Golden Eagle?
Ans: While both of these eagles are very strong as opposed to most other raptors, Golden Eagle has the edge when it’s compared against Bald Eagle. The latter can carry up to 400 lbs of weight in mid-air and the former’s such capability is raised up to 750 lbs. So it’s evident that Golden Eagles are much stronger of the two.
Q: Which eagle is more aggressive between these two?
Ans: Don’t take it the other way, Bald Eagles are indeed aggressive raptors and they hunt in agile manners. But Golden Eagles leave no contest when it comes to measuring aggressiveness. Researchers have claimed the species to be one of the most threatening animals ever to exist in the world. Instances like preying on Doll Sheep is a prime example of their trait.
Thoughts
It’s been a very close contest between Golden Eagle and Bald Eagle, I must admit. Through their abilities, behaviors and looks – we were able to get a certain degree of insight on their lives within the wilderness.
If I must pick one winner in retrospect, I’d have to pick both of them in separate divisions. For instance, Bald Eagle wins in terms of popularity while Golden Eagle is the victor when it comes to raw power and aggression.
However, one thing is certain about both of these raptors is that you wouldn’t want to let your pets laying out in the open if you live within the territory of either of these two.
Because their hunting ability is phenomenal with a 20% accuracy in nature, and this is something we must recognize and respect altogether.
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