The "Father of Taxonomy" Carl Linnaeus first described the Golden Eagle in 1758. The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) belongs, like all eagles, to the family accipitridae and is a member of the Booted or True Eagles family. Aquila is Latin for eagle while chrysaetos comes from the Greek words "chrysos" (golden) and "aeto" (eagle). It is one of twelve species of large eagles in the genus Aquila. The Golden Eagle gets its name from the golden coloured feathers on the back of its neck. In the wild, Golden eagles are thought to live for 15-20 years. In captivity, they may live for 40-45 years.

This bird is known by a number of names including Black Eagle, Bird of Jupiter, King of Birds, Royal Eagle, Jackrabbit Eagle, Ring-tailed Eagle and War Bird.

They reach a length of about 3 feet (.92m) and weigh up to 15 pounds (7kg) with a wing span of up to 7feet (2m). The female is slightly larger than the male.

Golden Eagles are still used to hunt foxes and wolves by Kazakh and Kyrgyz nomads in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, western Mongolia and China. In old England, only kings were allowed to hunt Golden Eagles.

The Golden Eagle was the symbol of the Roman legions and is featured in the national coat of arms of, among others, Egypt and Mexico. It is Mexico's national bird.

Six subspecies of Golden Eagle can be found in different parts of the world. Each species differs slightly in size and plumage. Temperate Europe, North Asia, North America, North Africa and Japan were all home to the Golden Eagle in days gone by. It has greatly declined in Central Europe and is now restricted to the Apennine regions of Italy and the Alps. It is still found in Scotland and in the Lake District of England.

Forty-six birds were released into Glenveagh National Park, County Donegal, between 2001 and 2006. 2007 saw the first chick hatch in the Republic of Ireland for nearly a century.

In North America, the Golden Eagle is found in the west and across Canada and Alaska. The birds are not often seen in the Midwest and Eastern states. They prefer open country: prairies, tundra, open coniferous forest and barren areas. In forested areas of North America, their home range may cover as much as 200 square miles. Not all Golden Eagles migrate. Some do due to lack of food but they do not migrate large distances as they are such excellent hunters. Alaskan and Canadian eagles typically fly south in the autumn.

They are a very large, broad-winged, broad-tailed hawk. Only

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