[181][182] Few eye-witness accounts are known of owl predation, but one violent mid-day confrontation between a golden eagle and an adult great horned owl was witnessed in Jefferson County, Colorado. [75] In Estonia, the prey base is more varied, but grouse were still the most represented bird family, comprising 18.1%. [11] One study in Finland found reindeer calves, of an estimated average weight of 12 kg (26 lb), were routinely killed. Martínez, J. E., Martínez, J. However, in the northernmost parts of Scandinavia, these are replaced by the smaller willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) and rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta). Sergio, F., Rizzolli, F., Marchesi, L., & Pedrini, P. 2004. Foxes may prey on the same species in a given area but, as they are occasionally hunted by the eagles and are mainly nocturnal, they tend to avoid direct conflicts. [11] In Scandinavia and the Baltic States, grouse are the primary prey for these eagles, comprising between 47.6% and 63.3% of their diet,[58][71][72][73][74] and displacing mammals altogether. Photo taken in Kansas © Rob Palmer, www.falconphotos.com, In the video linked below (posted on RaptorView Research Institute’s Facebook page), the Golden Eagle was caught feeding on an elk that did not make it through the winter. [1] Occasionally smaller raptors, especially large falcons, will drive eagles to the ground. [11] Only 15.8% of prey weighs over 4 kg (8.8 lb). (eds.). The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) appears to be the most important prey species on the Swedish island of Gotland, making up 42.5% of sampled nest remains. [171] The golden eagle is a potential predator of the lammergeier which is often attracted to much the same habitat and prey as the eagle but often feeds largely on bone marrow from carcasses. 1998. Well over 400 species of vertebrate have been recorded as prey. However, since eye-witness accounts of hunting and close monitoring of prey brought to the nest are both rare and likely to disturb the eagles, this is the best known method of studying the eagle's prey. Full-grown swans can weigh well over 10 kg (22 lb) and are probably the largest birds habitually hunted by golden eagles. The American Eagle Foundation (AEF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. [177] The golden eagle is considered an occasional predator of California condors (especially fledglings) but there seems to be little in the way of eyewitness accounts to confirm this. Sheep are sometimes eaten in considerable numbers, especially in the Inner and Outer Hebrides of Scotland (25.9% and 26.8% of nest remains respectively). The golden eagle is a powerful hunter with few avian rivals in size or strength, although what it gains in these areas it loses somewhat in its agility and speed. Copeia, 1996 (3): 722-726. Johnsgard, Paul A., "Cranes of the World: Demoiselle Crane (Anthropoides virgo)" (1983). Alberta, Scotland, Spain, etc.) [4] Nestling-aged rock pigeons (Columba livia) have been observed as prey in golden eagle nests. There it was found that the hunting of domestic stock peaks during wet, cold springs that seemed to adversely effect the local abundance of jackrabbits. This consists of a low-level quartering flight often at only 5 to 15 m (16 to 49 ft) above the ground so they do not break the sky-line when observed from the ground and they can hug the contours of the earth below. They also prefer nesting in large trees by the shore of a body of water, often in lowland areas, quite different from the upland, often mountainous nesting habitat preferred by golden eagles. [11] Studies have revealed that the average golden eagle nest contains 3.57 species of prey, although there is considerable variation in the dietary breadth across the range, ranging from an average of 11.2 species in the French Pyrenees to a mere 1.4 in Alaska. [173] In the Southwestern United States, several conflicts between huge California condors and golden eagles have been observed. [80] In the near Arctic regions of Scandinavia, reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) of both semi-domestic and wild stock are fed on with some regularity; one study in northern Sweden found reindeer formed 11.4% of prey items. Nonetheless, about half of the large Spermophilus group, all species of prairie dog, three out of four species of antelope squirrel and nearly all the species of marmot have been found as golden eagle prey. [42] Over the whole of the golden eagle's range these prey items comprise less than 1% of nest remains, though this figure can be higher locally. Several chases involving the golden chasing Verreaux's were witnessed but only one where a Verreaux's chased off the golden. Contributions to the American Eagle Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Seminara, S., Giarratana, S. & Favara, R. 1987. [72] Live fawns and carrion probably comprise most of the golden eagle's consumption of deer (certainly in larger-bodied species such as red deer). Studies showed pigs (most certainly taken as carrion) made up to 13.3% of the diet in Corsica and 43.1% on Santa Cruz Island, California. 1981. [139] Russian tortoises (Agrionemys horsfieldii) made up 31.9% of the prey in 5 nests in Turkmenistan and 25.4% of the prey in 36 nests in Kazakhstan. [164], Due to the potential danger to themselves and their offspring, almost every other type of raptorial bird readily mobs golden eagles. 2013. Cooper, A.B. [200] There are at least two known instances of Scottish white-tailed eagles fiercely attacking golden eagles in apparent territorial bouts, in one instance pulling the golden down into shallow coastal waters to drown. [128] After galliforms, the next most significant group of prey among birds is the corvid family, making up 4.1% of the diet from around the range. [216] In Yellowstone National Park, one prey item amongst 473 recorded for cougars (Puma concolor) was a golden eagle, although no details of the attack or of the age of the bird were reported. [43] Mustelids, mainly martens, turned up in large numbers in the French Alps where they made up 10.1% of nest remains. Although rare, golden eagles have been known to use the "walk and grab attack" to pull a leporid out of its cover. Delibes, M., Calderon, J. [27] In many parts of the range (i.e. Just prior to impact, the wings are opened, the tail fanned and feet thrust forward to grab the prey, creating a booming sound, causing by the wings whipping against the wind, in the instant before the strike that sounds like a clap of thunder. Whitfield, D.P., Fielding, A.H., McLeod, D.R.A. [194] However, conflicts between the great eagles do occur, especially at carrion or kills. Golden Eagle attacks White-tailed Deer at Nachusa Grasslands! There are many differences in the dietary biology of these species as they primarily eat fish, occasionally supplemented by water birds or other semi-aquatic prey, and obtain more of their food via scavenging of dead or injured animals or via kleptoparasitism than golden eagles do. [60][85] Leslie Brown claimed, to the opposite extreme, that it was "physically impossible" for a golden eagle to kill any ungulate scaling several times their own weight. [11] Occasionally, however, corvids may behave more boldly around golden eagles. [11][18][19][20][21] Tandem hunting may be done regularly, especially with larger prey items. They comprise about 11.2% of the prey taken by this species across the range. [3], After the leporids, the next most significant group in the diet of golden eagles is the ground squirrels. In North America, where there are no Aquila eagles other than the golden eagle, Buteo species are more diverse with at least 3 large hawks (the red-tailed, Swainson's (Buteo swainsoni) and ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis)) that occur in similar habitats and sometimes eat similar prey as both each other and golden eagles. Stilt, 61. The primary owls hunted by European eagles are Ural owls (Strix uralensis) and short-eared owls (Asio flammeus). ‘’Golden Eagles feeding on fish’’. In Scotland, golden eagles have been confirmed to kill red deer calves up to 20 kg (44 lb) in mass and have been captured on film attacking an adult red deer but not carrying through with the hunt. [165] Remarkably, the nest defense by golden eagles themselves is often rather passive towards other raptorial birds, perhaps since other species may fear predation on themselves if they approach a golden eagle territory. Contributions to the American Eagle Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Golden eagles use their speed and sharp talons to snatch up rabbits, marmots, and ground squirrels. The usual response of the grouse is to take off in flight. Differentiating whether a lamb has been caught and killed while alive or scavenged as a carcass is possible if the remains are in good condition.