Editing Golden eagle (section)

===Colour===
[[File:Orel skalní 2.jpg|thumb|right|Subadult, showing white in tail and dark neck]]

Adults of both sexes have similar plumage and are primarily dark brown, with some grey on the inner wing and tail, and a paler, typically golden colour on the back of the crown and nape that gives the species its common name.<ref name=Clark/>  Unlike other ''Aquila'' species, where the [[Tarsus (skeleton)|tarsal]] feathers are typically similar in colour to the rest of the plumage, the tarsal feathers of golden eagles tend to be paler, ranging from light golden to white.<ref name= Watson/> In addition, some full-grown birds (especially in North America) have white "[[epaulettes]]" on the upper part of each scapular [[feather tract]].<ref name="Brown"/><ref name="Jollie">{{cite journal |last1=Jollie|first1=Malcolm|year=1947|title=Plumage Changes in the Golden Eagle|journal=Auk|volume=64|pages=549–576|publisher=American Ornithologists' Union|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v064n04/p0549-p0576.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v064n04/p0549-p0576.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=2010-12-27 |doi=10.2307/4080715 |issue=4|jstor=4080715}}</ref> The bill is dark at the tip, fading to a lighter horn colour, with a yellow [[cere]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clark|first1=William S|year=1983|title=The field identification of North American eagles|journal=North American Birds|volume=37|issue=5|pages=822–826|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/nab/v037n05/p00822-p00826.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/nab/v037n05/p00822-p00826.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=2010-12-27}}</ref> As in many [[Accipitridae|accipitrids]], the bare portion of the feet is yellow.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/> There are subtle differences in colouration among subspecies, described [[#Subspecies and distribution|below]].

Juvenile golden eagles are similar to adults but tend to be darker, appearing black on the back especially in [[East Asia]]. They have a less faded colour. Young birds are white for about two-thirds of their tail length, ending with a broad, black band.<ref name="Terres478"/> Occasionally, juvenile eagles have white patches on the [[remiges]] at the bases of the inner primaries and the outer secondaries, forming a crescent marking on the wings which tends to be divided by darker feathers.<ref name= Watson/><ref name=ABAaging>{{cite journal|last1=Liguori|first1=Jerry|year=2004|title=How to Age Golden Eagles|journal=Birding|pages=278–283|url=http://www.aba.org/birding/v36n3p278.pdf|access-date=2010-12-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306212522/http://www.aba.org/birding/v36n3p278.pdf|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Rarely, juvenile birds may have only traces of white on the tail. Compared to the relatively consistently white tail, the white patches on the wing are extremely variable; some juveniles have almost no white visible. Juveniles of less than 12 months of age tend to have the most white in their plumage.<ref name="Jollie" /> By their second summer, the white underwing coverts are usually replaced by a characteristic rusty brown colour. By the third summer, the upper-wing coverts are largely replaced by dark brown feathers, although not all feathers moult at once which leaves many juvenile birds with a grizzled pattern. The tail follows a similar pattern of maturation to the wings.<ref name="Jollie" /><ref name=ABAaging/> Due to the variability between individuals, juvenile eagles cannot be reliably aged by sight alone.<ref name= Juvenile>{{cite journal |author=Tjernberg, M. |title=Age determination of Golden Eagles, ''Aquila chrysaetos'' |journal=Vår Fågelvärld |volume=47 |pages=321–334 |year=1988 |issn=0042-2649}}</ref> Many golden eagles still have white on the tail during their first attempt at nesting.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ellis, D.H. |author2=Lish, J.W. |title=Thinking about feathers: adaptations of golden eagle rectrices |journal=Journal of Raptor Research |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=1–28 |year=2006 |doi=10.3356/0892-1016(2006)40[1:TAFAOG]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=86154133 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1236457 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The final adult plumage is not fully attained until the birds are between {{frac|5|1|2}} and {{frac|6|1|2}} years old.<ref name= Juvenile/>