# What Do Golden Eagles Eat?

> What golden eagles eat: Carnivore (hares, marmots, birds, carrion), foraging style, and seasonal shifts in Mountains, open hills, and tundra.

- **Species:** Golden Eagle (*Aquila chrysaetos*)
- **Conservation status:** Least Concern
- **Diet:** Carnivore (hares, marmots, birds, carrion)
- **Habitat:** Mountains, open hills, and tundra
- **Lifespan:** 20–30 years in the wild
- **Top speed:** Over 240 km/h (150 mph) in a dive
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/golden-eagle/what-do-golden-eagle-eat/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/golden-eagle/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the largest and fastest birds of prey, found across the mountains, open hills, and tundra of the Northern Hemisphere. It weighs around 4.5 kg with a wingspan of 1.8 to 2.3 m, and in a hunting dive it can exceed 240 km/h (150 mph). This powerful aerial hunter takes hares, marmots, and birds, lives 20 to 30 years, and is listed as Least Concern.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a captive feeding plan from a veterinarian. This page is wild diet, not a pet-care sheet.

## Appearance and identification

The golden eagle is a large, dark-brown raptor named for the golden feathers that gleam on the nape and crown. Adults weigh around 4.5 kg and span 1.8 to 2.3 m (6 to 7.5 ft) from wingtip to wingtip, with females noticeably larger than males. In flight it holds its long, broad wings in a shallow V and soars with only occasional wingbeats. Young birds show white patches at the base of the tail and in the wings that fade as they mature.

## Help protect the Golden Eagle

Even familiar animals lose ground as wild habitat keeps shrinking worldwide.

[Donate to wildlife protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/donate/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/golden-eagle/what-do-golden-eagle-eat/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.