|Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) The Golden Eagle (Aquila
chrysaetos) is one of the best known birds of prey in the
Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family
Accipitridae. Once distributed across North America, Europe and
Asia, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated
areas. The Golden Eagle is one of twelve species of large
predominantly dark-coloured eagles in the genus Aquila found
worldwide; a large brown bird of prey, it has a wingspan
averaging over 2 m (7 ft) and up to 1m (3 ft) in body length.