Amicus
Amicus is a male Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). He came to
the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in the late summer of 2006 from the
northeastern Washington region. He was born in the spring of 2006. Amicus
is completely blind due to either traumatic injury, from a neurological
disease, lead poisoning, or from birth. Due to his blindness, he will stay
in captivity for the rest of his life. “Amicus” is Latin for “friend”.
Golden Eagles are considered “booted eagles” due to the feathering that
reaches down to their feet, and can be found in various open habitats. They
build large stick nests in trees or cliff ledges where they have plenty of
room to maneuver. They occur in the Northern hemisphere including North
America, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
Adult Golden Eagles are nearly alike except females are larger than males.
The adult plumage is dark brown overall, with golden feathers on the back
of the head (the nape), undertail feathers, and on the top of their wings.
Their flight feathers are gray underneath their wings, and their tail is
gray with a band of black near the tip of their tail. The bill and talons
are black, and the cere (soft membrane that covers the nostrils) and feet
are yellow.
Immature Golden Eagles have a broad, white tail band with a black edge, and
large white patches on the undersides of the wings at the base of the
primary feathers. Sometimes a white line extends from this large patch
toward the body. On their second year, this white patch becomes smaller.
Like the adults, the juvenile Golden Eagles have a golden nape. Adult
males weigh about 7-10 pounds while the females weigh 9-15 pounds. The
largest Golden Eagle on record weighed 20 pounds!
Golden Eagles use their tremendous eyesight to locate prey. They prefer to
attack upwind, to increase their aerodynamic control and maneuverability.
These birds prey upon a variety of creatures from prairie dogs, cottontail
rabbits and ground squirrels to grouse, ducks, reptiles, and other raptors.
The largest prey they attack in North America includes small deer,
pronghorn, coyotes, and sometimes small cattle. In Europe, they will take
prey as large as mountain goats! In Russia, falconers will hunt wolves with
their Golden Eagles. The birds will also feed on carrion (animals already
dead), which sometimes results in death from vehicle collisions or lead
poisoning. (However, carrion feeding is more commonly seen among Bald
Eagles.)
Golden Eagles defend large breeding area home ranges. Though their
territories may be large, they cannot defend the entire area continuously.
Often, when an intruder enters an eagle's home range, the resident Golden
Eagle will fly in a "roller coaster" flight, by soaring upward to a point,
then tucking its wings to descend. This pattern can be repeated in a series
and is truly inspiring to watch.
Though nesting territories may be occupied yearly, there are generally
several nest sites in the area that are used on different years. These
nests may be over 0.5 miles apart. Alternate nests range from 1 to 11 per
territory. Nests are constructed of large twigs or roots and can be lined
with moss, bark, fur or other soft material. The nest may become huge, as
much as 8 to 10 feet across and 3 to 4 feet deep.
