Who will win between these two savage eagles?
The bald eagle, the only eagle native to North America, is the proud national bird symbol of the United States.
The bald eagle is a sea eagle that lives inland in areas near rivers and huge lakes.
The scientific name bald eagle refers to a sea eagle with a white head.
The word “bald” was used to signify “white,” not “hairless” in the past. This mighty eagle is the largest bird of prey in North America and is Mexico’s national bird.
These birds have dark brown bodies covered with light golden-brown heads and necks.
They are exceedingly fast, capable of diving at speeds of more than 150 miles per hour on their prey.
Adult golden and bald eagles have distinct coloring patterns that make it easier to distinguish between the two species.
Size & Body Description
Bald eagles are big predatory raptors with a brown body, white head and tail, and a hooked yellow beak.
They have sharp black nails on their feet and are also yellow.
Bald eagles reach a height of 2.5 to 3 feet and have a massive 6 foot wingspan.
Although female bald eagles are larger than males, they have the same coloring.
The golden eagle can reach 3 feet and has a wingspan of 6 to 7 feet.
It has a dark brown plumage with gold specks around the head and neck.
Brown eyes, a yellow beak, and 3-inch talons distinguish the golden eagle.
The legs of golden eagles have feathers down to their talons.
They live about 15 to 20 years on average but have been known to survive for up to 30 years.
Habitat And Distribution
Bald eagles are a species of bird native to North America.
Their range stretches from the Mexican border to the Canadian border.
Alaska is home to a large number of these birds.
They can be observed in Alaska, along the East and West coastlines, in the Rocky Mountains, and along the Mississippi River.
Bald eagles are only seen in the rest of the United States during the winter and migration.
They can be spotted soaring above lakes and in neighboring trees during the summer.
They enjoy lakes and reservoirs with plenty of fish and forests surrounding them.
In the winter, bald eagles can be observed hunting along coasts, reservoirs, rivers, and surrounding unfrozen lakes.
Bald eagles can be spotted near various aquatic environments throughout their migration.
Golden eagles live in open and semi-open land with native flora throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere.
They stay away from developed places and long swaths of woodland.
They’re primarily found in high mountains up to 12,000-foot, canyonlands, rimrock terrain, and riverbank cliffs and bluffs.
Golden Eagles build their nests in grassland, chaparral, shrubland, forest, and other vegetated regions on cliffs and high escarpments.
These magnificent birds can be found from Mexico to Alaska and throughout most of North America.
They can also be found in the east but are less numerous.
Asia, northern Africa, and Europe are all home to golden eagles.
Diet
Fish are bald eagles’ favorite food.
When fish aren’t available, these birds will consume everything they can get their hands on, including small birds and rodents.
Bald eagles are scavengers who feast on dead animals.
If they sense a chance, bald eagles may even take food from other species, such as ospreys.
Golden eagles, like all raptors, are carnivores and formidable hunters.
They’re big enough to take down an adult deer, although they mostly eat rodents, rabbits, reptiles, birds, fish, and carrion or stolen prey from other birds.
Their keen vision helps them to follow down hapless prey with ease.
Their enormous talons have been compared to the force of a bullet, and they can swoop down on their prey at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour.
The golden eagle can go for several days without eating after a successful hunt and meal.
Behavior
Bald Eagles are strong fliers, capable of soaring, gliding, and flapping over vast distances.
A male and female can perform amazing acrobatics together, they fly far into the sky, lock talons, and then cartwheel downward together, breaking off at the last second to avoid falling to the ground in one of several stunning courtship rituals.
Bald Eagles regularly attack birds such as ospreys and other eagles and mammals such as river and sea otters to steal their food.
Bald Eagles walk with an ungainly, swaying motion on the ground.
A Bald Eagle with the ability to float can use its wings to “row” over water too deep for wading.
Bald Eagles, though frequently solitary, assemble by the dozens or even hundreds at communal roosts and feeding areas, especially in the winter.
Birds struggling for position and arguing over prey can make these groups quite rowdy.
During the breeding season, you might encounter Bald Eagles defending their territories against raptors and ravens and coyotes and foxes.
For their size, golden eagles have incredible speed and maneuverability.
They have been timed at close to 200 miles per hour while diving from tremendous heights.
A Golden Eagle executes a quick succession of up to 20 steep dives and upward swoops, beating its wings three or four times at the top of each rise, in an undulating territorial and courting show known as “sky-dancing.”
The eagle dives and rises in “pendulum flight,” then turns over to resume its flight.
Single birds and pairs engage in aerial play with sticks or dead prey, carrying them high into the sky before dropping and retrieving them.
In addition to attacking animals from the air, Golden Eagles also hunt on the ground, flailing their wings fiercely as they flee.
During the breeding season, mated eagles hunt jackrabbits together, with one eagle distracting the animal’s attention while the other makes the kill.
Which would win in a fight between a bald and a golden eagle?
Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles are the same size and weight.
Golden Eagles like to eat mammals, whereas Bald Eagles prefer to eat fish, which explains their wider bills.
Golden Eagles have significantly longer tails for navigating and chasing down their prey.
Baldies don’t have exceptionally powerful feet or the toe joints to flexibly spear an animal with any important accuracy because they aren’t built for terrestrial hunting.
Their talons and rough-padded feet are designed to grab slippery prey like fish to prevent it from fleeing, not to stab it to death.
Golden eagles kill via stabbing and impact-diving at great speeds, which smashes bones and rips tissues apart.
Their foot muscles are stronger, and they’re designed for pinning and repeatedly shaking animals to death, as well as crushing the spine of prey like rabbits.
They don’t have the same strong bill or jaw muscles as baldies.
They do, however, have extremely flexible hip joints that allow them to throw their legs forward more than a bald eagle could.
This is strange because most other fish-eaters, such as ospreys, can throw their legs almost 180 degrees forward.
Baldies and other fish eagles, on the other hand, are unable to do so. Goldens, on the other hand, can.
In a fight between the two, which might occur where their ranges intersect, the golden will normally flee unless it is guarding a nest.
If there are nests involved, I put my money on the golden. They’re more agile in flight, have stronger feet, and are determined, even though not as ferocious as a bald eagle.
A Baldie will usually leave if it misses a shot.
If a golden misses a shot, it will return for a second round for as long as the prey it is seeking is still alive.
They have a lot of endurance.