Editing Golden eagle (section)

== Habitat and distribution ==
[[File:North east ridge of Beinn Mhor. - geograph.org.uk - 15940.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ben More (Mull)|Beinn Mhor]] on the [[Isle of Mull]], [[Scotland]] is typical golden eagle habitat: rugged and mountainous.]]

[[File:Golden Eagle from Singba Rhododendron Sanctuary in North Sikkim India 02042019.jpg|thumb|right|An adult flying above Himalayan mountains from [[Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary]] in [[Sikkim]], [[India]]]]

Golden eagles are fairly adaptable in habitat but often reside in areas with a few shared ecological characteristics. They are best suited to hunting in open or semi-open areas and search them out year-around. Native vegetation seems to be attractive to them and they typically avoid developed areas of any type from urban to agricultural as well as heavily forested regions. In desolate areas (e.g., the southern [[Yukon]]), they can occur regularly at roadkills and garbage dumps.<ref>Burles, D. W. & Frey, R. (1981). ''Raptor monitoring program'', 1980 report. Kluane National Park, YT.</ref> The largest numbers of golden eagles are found in mountainous regions today, with many eagles doing a majority of their hunting and nesting on rock formations. However, they are not solely tied to high elevations and can breed in lowlands if the local habitats are suitable. Below are more detailed descriptions of habitats occupied by golden eagles in both continents where they occur.<ref name= Watson/>

=== Eurasia ===
[[File:Steinadler Aquila chrysaetos closeup2 Richard Bartz.jpg|thumb|Portrait of a golden eagle near the [[Alps]]]]
In the [[Arctic]] fringe of Eurasia, golden eagles occur along the edge of the [[tundra]] and the [[taiga]] from the [[Kola peninsula]] to [[Chukotka Autonomous Okrug|Anadyr]] in eastern [[Siberia]], nesting in forests and hunting over nearby arctic [[heath]]land. Typical vegetation is stunted, fragmented [[Larch|larch woodland]] merging into low [[birch]]-[[willow]] scrub and various heathland. In the rocky, wet, windy maritime climate of [[Scotland]], [[Ireland]], and western [[Scandinavia]], the golden eagle dwells in mountains. These areas include upland [[grassland]]s, [[blanket bog]], and sub-Arctic heaths but also fragmented woodland and [[woodland edge]], including [[Taiga|boreal forests]]. In Western Europe, golden eagle habitat is dominated by open, rough grassland, heath and bogs, and rocky ridges, spurs, [[Cliff|crags]], [[scree]], slopes and grand plateaux. In [[Sweden]], [[Finland]], the [[Baltic States]], [[Belarus]] and almost the entire distribution in [[Russia]] all the way to the [[Pacific Ocean]], golden eagles occur sparsely in lowland [[taiga]] forest. These areas are dominated by stands of evergreens such as [[pine]], [[larch]] and [[spruce]], occasionally supplemented by [[birch]] and [[alder]] stands in southern Scandinavia and the Baltic States. This is largely marginal country for golden eagles and they occur where tree cover is thin and abuts open habitat. Golden eagle taiga habitat usually consists of extensive peatland formations caused by poorly drained soils. 

In central Europe, golden eagles today occur almost exclusively in the major mountain ranges, such as the [[Pyrenees]], [[Alps]], [[Carpathians]], and the [[Caucasus]]. Here, the species nests near the [[tree line]] and hunt [[Transhumance in the Alps|subalpine and alpine pastures]], grassland and heath above. Golden eagles also occur in moderately mountainous habitat along the [[Mediterranean Sea]], from the [[Iberian Peninsula]] and the [[Atlas Mountains]] in [[Morocco]], to [[Greece]], [[Turkey]] and [[Iraq]]. This area is characterized by low mountains, Mediterranean [[Maquis shrubland|maquis vegetation]], and sub-temperate open woodland. The local [[pine]]-[[oak]] vegetation, with a variety of [[Sclerophyll]]ous shrubs are well-adapted to prolonged summer droughts. From [[Turkey]] and the southern [[Caspian Sea]] to the foothills of the [[Hindu Kush|Hindu Kush Mountains]] in [[Afghanistan]], the typical golden eagle habitat is temperate desert-like mountain ranges surrounded by steppe landscapes interspersed with forest. Here the climate is colder and more continental than around the Mediterranean. 

Golden eagles occupy the alpine ranges from the [[Altai Mountains]] and the [[Pamir Mountains]] to [[Tibet]], in the great [[Himalayas|Himalayan massif]], and [[Xinjiang]], [[China]], where they occupy the [[Tien Shan]] range.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} In these mountain ranges, the species often lives at very high elevations, living above tree line at more than {{convert|2500|m|ft|abbr=on}}, often nesting in rocky scree and hunting in adjacent meadows. In Tibet, golden eagles inhabit high ridges and passes in the [[Lhasa|Lhasa River watershed]], where they regularly join groups of soaring [[Himalayan vulture]]s (''Gyps himalayensis'').<ref>{{cite journal|author=Lang, A. |author2=Bishop, M.A. |author3=Le Seuer, A. |title=An annotated list of birds wintering in the Lhasa river watershed and Yamzho Yumco, Tibet Autonomous Region, China |journal=Forktail |volume=23 |year=2007 |url=http://orientalbirdclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Lang-Lhasa.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://orientalbirdclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Lang-Lhasa.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref> One golden eagle was recorded circling at {{convert|6190|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea-level in [[Khumbu]] in May 1975.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Inskipp, C. |author2=Inskipp, T. |title=A guide to the birds of Nepal |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |year=1991 |isbn=0713681098 |edition=2nd}}</ref> In the mountains of Japan and Korea, the golden eagle occupies deciduous scrub woodland and carpet-like stands of [[Siberian dwarf pine]] (''Pinus pumila'') that merge into grasslands and alpine heathland. 

The golden eagle occurs in mountains from the [[Adrar Plateau]] in [[Mauritania]] to northern [[Yemen]] and [[Oman]] where the [[desert]] habitat is largely bereft of vegetation but offers many rocky plateaus to support both the eagles and their prey. In [[Israel]], their habitat is mainly rocky slopes and wide [[wadi]] areas, chiefly in desert and to a lesser extent in semi-desert and Mediterranean climates, extending to open areas.<ref name="Shirhai">{{cite book |author1=Shirihai, H. |author2=Roselaar, C.S. |title=The Birds of Israel: A Complete Avifauna and Bird Atlas of Israel |publisher=Academic Press |year=1996 |isbn=0126402558 }}</ref> In [[Northeastern Africa]], the habitat is often of a sparse, desert-like character and is quite similar to the habitat in Middle East and the Arabian peninsula. In Ethiopia's [[Bale Mountains]], where the vegetation is more lush and the climate is clearly less arid than in Northeastern Africa, the golden eagle occupies verdant mountains.<ref name="Watson" />

=== North America ===
The [[biome]]s occupied by golden eagles are roughly concurrent with those of Eurasia. In western and northern [[Alaska]] and northern [[Canada]] to the [[Ungava Peninsula]] in [[Quebec]], the eagles occupy the Arctic fringe of North America (the species does not range into the true high Arctic tundra), where open canopy gives way to dwarf-shrub heathland with [[Eriophorum|cottongrass]] and [[Tussock (grass)|tussock]] tundra. In land-locked areas of the sub-Arctic, golden eagles are by far the largest raptor. From the [[Alaska Range]] to [[Washington (state)|Washington]] and [[Oregon]], it is often found in high mountains above the [[tree line]] or on bluffs and cliffs along river valleys below the tree line.<ref name= Ritchie>{{cite journal |last1=Ritchie |first1=R.J. |first2=J.A. |last2=Curatolo |title=Notes on Golden Eagle productivity and nest site characteristics, Porcupine River, Alaska, 1979–1982 |journal=Raptor Research |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=123–7 |year=1982 |url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jrr/v016n04/p00123-p00128.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jrr/v016n04/p00123-p00128.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= Petersen>{{cite journal |last1=Petersen |first1=M.R. |first2=D.N. |last2=Weir |first3=M.H. |last3=Dick |title=Birds of the Kilbuck and Ahklun Mountain Region, Alaska |journal=North American Fauna |volume=76 |pages=1–158 |year=1991 |doi=10.3996/nafa.76.0001|bibcode=1991usgs.rept...13P |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc700997/m2/1/high_res_d/nafa.76.0001.pdf |hdl=2027/uc1.31822033875303 }}</ref> In Washington state, golden eagles can be found in clear-cut sections of otherwise dense coniferous forest zones with relatively little annual precipitation.<ref name= Marr>{{cite journal |author1=Marr, N.V. |author2=Knight, R.L. |title=Food Habits of Golden Eagles in Eastern Washington |journal=Murrelet |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=73–77 |year=1983 |jstor=3535265 |doi=10.2307/3535265}}</ref> From east of the Canadian Rocky Mountains to the mountains of Labrador, the golden eagle is found in small numbers in boreal forest [[peatland]]s and similar [[Mixed Wood Plains Ecozone (CEC)|mixed woodland areas]]. In the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in the United States are [[plain]]s and [[prairie]]s where golden eagles are widespread, especially where there is a low human presence. Here, grassland on low rolling hills and flat plains are typical, interrupted only by [[Populus sect. Aigeiros|cottonwood stands]] around river valleys and [[wetland]]s where the eagles may build their nests. 

Golden eagles also occupy the desert-like [[Great Basin]] from southern [[Idaho]] to northern [[Arizona]] and [[New Mexico]]. In this habitat, trees are generally absent other than [[juniper]]s with vegetation being dominated by [[Artemisia (genus)|sagebrush]] (''Artemisia'') and other low shrub species. Although the vegetation varies a bit more, similar habitat is occupied by golden eagles in Mexico.<ref name="Craig84">{{cite journal |author1=Craig, T.H. |author2=Craig, E.H. |title=Results of a helicopter survey of cliff nesting raptors in a deep canyon in southern Idaho |journal=Journal of Raptor Research |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=20–25 |year=1984 |url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jrr/v018n01/p00020-p00025.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jrr/v018n01/p00020-p00025.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="marz">{{cite journal |author=Marzluff, J.M.|author2= Knick, S.T.|author3= Vekasy, M.S.|author4= Schueck, L.S.|author5= Zarriello, T.J. |title=Spatial use and habitat selection of Golden Eagles in southwestern Idaho |url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v114n04/p0673-p0687.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v114n04/p0673-p0687.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|journal=Auk |volume=114 |issue=4 |pages=673–687 |year=1997 |jstor=4089287 |doi=10.2307/4089287|bibcode= 1997Auk...114..673M|s2cid= 55398508}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Millsap, B.A. |title=Distributional status of Falconiformes in west central Arizona-with notes on ecology, reproductive success and management |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management |year=1981 |series=Technical Note |volume=355 }}</ref> However, golden eagles are typically absent in North America from true deserts, like the [[Sonora Desert]], where annual precipitation is less than {{convert|20|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book|author=Root, T.L. |title=Atlas of wintering North American birds; an analysis of Christmas Bird Count data |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1988 |isbn=0226725391}}</ref> Golden eagles occupy the mountains and coastal areas of [[California]] and [[Baja California]] in [[Mexico]] where hot, dry summers and moist winters are typical. The golden eagles here often nest in [[chaparral]] and [[oak]] woodland, oak savanna and grassland amongst low rolling hill typified by diverse vegetation.<ref name="Hunt">Hunt, W. G., Jackman, R.E. Brown, T. L., Gilardi, J. G., Driscoll, D. E. & Culp, L. 1995. ''A pilot Golden Eagle population study in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, California''. Predatory Bird Research Group, University of California, Santa Cruz.</ref> In the Eastern United States, the species once bred widely in the [[Appalachian Plateau]] near [[Wildfire|burns]], open [[marsh]]es, [[meadow]]s, [[bog]]s and [[lake]]s.<ref name="Spottford">{{cite journal |author=Spofford, W.R. |title=The breeding status of the Golden Eagle in the Appalachians |journal=American Birds |volume=25 |pages=3–7 |year=1971 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Singer, F.J. |title=Status of the Osprey, Bald Eagle, and Golden Eagle in the Adirondacks |journal=New York Fish & Game Commission Journal |volume=21 |pages=18–31 |year=1974 }}</ref> In Eastern North America, the species still breeds on the [[Gaspe Peninsula]], [[Quebec]]. Until 1999, a pair of golden eagles were still known to nest in [[Maine]] but they are now believed to be absent as a breeding bird from the [[Eastern United States]].<ref name="Watson" /> The golden eagles who breed in eastern Canada winter on montane grass and heath fields in the Appalachian Plateau region, especially in [[Pennsylvania]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[West Virginia]], [[Maryland]] and [[Virginia]]. Most sightings in the [[Eastern United States]] recently are concentrated within or along southwestern border of the [[Appalachian Plateau]] (30% of records) and within the Coastal Plain physiographic region (33% of records).<ref name="Millaps">{{cite journal |last1=Millsap |first1=B.A. |first2=S.L. |last2=Vana |title=Distribution of wintering Golden Eagles in the eastern United States |journal=Wilson Bulletin |volume=96 |issue=4 |pages=692–701 |year=1984 |jstor=4162004}}</ref>

Though they do regularly nest in the marsh-like [[Mire|peatland]] of the boreal forest, golden eagles are not generally associated with wetlands and, in fact, they can be found near some of the most arid spots on earth. In the wintering population of Eastern United States, however, they are often associated with steep river valleys, reservoirs, and marshes in inland areas as well as estuarine marshlands, barrier islands, managed wetlands, sounds, and mouths of major river systems in coastal areas. These wetlands are attractive due to a dominance of open vegetation, large concentrations of prey, and the general absence of human disturbance.<ref name="Millaps"/> In the midwestern United States, they are not uncommon during winter near [[reservoir]]s and wildlife refuges that provide foraging opportunities at waterfowl concentrations.<ref>{{cite book |author=Wingfield, G.A. |chapter=Central plains buteos and Golden Eagle |editor=Pendleton, B.G. |title=Proceedings of the Midwest raptor management symposium and workshop |publisher=National Wildlife Federation |year=1991 |isbn=0945051506 |pages=60–68 }}</ref>