A rare site in Britain, a golden
eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
swoops on its unsuspecting
quarry. This swift and deadly
predator can dive at speeds in
excess of 241km/h (150mph).
However, golden eagles don’t
often drop like this to hunt and
will usually fly much lower to
snatch prey from mountainsides.
Golden eagles can have a
wingspan of more than two
metres and normally feed on
medium-sized prey like hares,
rabbits or grouse. But the birds
have been known to grab foxes,
pet cats and even young deer in
their talons.
Having been driven to
extinction in much of the UK andEurope, golden eagles are
making something of a
comeback in Britain. There are
now more than 400 breeding
pairs in northern and western
Scotland, as the birds have
become a heavily protected
species – killing one could earn
you a six-month jail term and a
£5,000 fine.
Golden eagles mate for life
and return year after year to
the same nest, or eyrie, which
they build on cliffs or in trees.
Each year the eyrie is added
to, so they can become very
large – the largest one found in
Britain was 4.6m deep and is
thought to have taken over 40
years to build.How fast can a
golden eagle fly?
NATURE