The choice of a mate for the golden eagle is a ritual that involves many aerial feats. The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the largest, fastest and most agile birds of prey.
They are found in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. This bird has bright golden feathers on the back of its head and neck. And their powerful claws and beak are used with great skill to hunt their prey.
Golden Eagle
As for their partner, most mate for life. Even if they are not partners for life, couples generally stay together for several years and are monogamous during that period. However, if one of the eagles dies, the survivor will look for another mate.
The Golden Eagle's mate selection ritual
Generally, mating for eagles begins with courtship, which can be quite an active process.
Each species has its own rituals. These often involve some kind of flight display, but they also use a variety of ways to get the attention of a potential partner.
Sometimes during courtship the males bring food to the females. This can save you strength when laying the eggs later.
The males continue to carry food during the incubation periods. For male or female eagles, courtship serves to ensure a strong, fit and capable partner of healthy young. This increases their chances of survival.
In this case, golden eagles choose their mates when they are approximately four or five years old. They are often kept together for their entire lives of fifteen to twenty years.
This golden eagle mate choice involves very high flights and plummets to impress. During these flights, they shoot towards the ground with bent wings, sometimes reaching an estimated 160 km / h.
Then they take off once more. Or the two eagles can shoot at each other, briefly touching the talons.
In general, during courtship a golden eagle can perform a quick series of up to 20 climbs and rains.
On each climb they can beat their wings three or four times. It also performs pendulum flights, where the eagle dives and soars, then turns to return on its way.
Mating habits of the golden eagle
Depending on their geographic location, golden eagles breed from March to August. Most of the pairs are sedentary and stay in the same territory throughout the year.
Many begin nest building and courtship in December. For migrating golden eagles, pairing and courtship begins when the eagles return to breeding grounds between February and mid-April. Each pair can have several nests in its breeding territory.
On the other hand, golden eagles build their nests preferably on cliffs. Although they can also use trees, riverbanks and artificial structures.
This construction can take 4 to 6 weeks. For this they use sticks and local vegetation. The female lays 1 to 4 eggs, and is responsible for most of the incubation. In the end, usually the strongest survives.
References
- Meggitt, J. (s / f). The mating behaviors of the golden eagle. Retrieved on December 14, 2017, from animals.mom.me.
- The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (s / f). Golden eagle. Retrieved on December 14, 2017, from allaboutbirds.org.
- Warhol, T. and Reiter, C. (2004). Eagles. New York: Marshall Cavendish.
- Grambo, RL (1999). Eagles. Minnesota: Voyageur Press.
- Ivory, A. (2002). Aquila chrysaetos Retrieved on December 15, 2017, from animaldiversity.org.