The mountain eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), also called the golden eagle, is a large bird of prey. It hunts during the day and belongs to the eagle family (Accipitridae). The subspecies Aquila chrysaetos homeyeri has been recorded in Georgia. It nests here and stays year-round. Its presence here has also been confirmed by a photograph. Adults are dark brown, with lighter, golden-rust feathers on the back of the head and neck. An ordinary encounter poses no direct threat to people, but they should not approach its nest. Worldwide, its risk of extinction is low. Georgia’s 2014 Red List assessed it as facing a risk of extinction, while a 2024 bird list assessed its risk of extinction in Georgia as low. These two assessments differ.
Identification
How to identify Golden eagle
It is a large, dark brown eagle. The back of its head is golden, and its tail is relatively long. As of 2024, it lives in Georgia year-round. Young birds have a white base to the tail and often show white patches on their wings. Adults no longer have these markings.
This species is about 66–102 cm long, with a wingspan of about 1.8–2.34 m. The wing measures 600–685 mm, the tail 330–360 mm, and the bird weighs 3.5–4.5 kg. Females are larger than males, but they have the same colouring. In A. c. homeyeri, the male’s wing is about 55–64 cm long and the female’s about 60–70 cm. They weigh about 2.9–6 kg. Adults have dark brown backs and wings. The feathers on the back of the head and neck are lighter, either golden or rust-coloured. Their legs are feathered down to the toes. The soft area at the base of the beak and the feet are yellow; the claws are black. In flight, their long, broad wings are easy to see, with feathers at the tips spread like fingers. The tail is longer than that of other large eagles.
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For the first few years of its life, a young bird has a white tail near its base and a broad black band at the tip. White patches are often visible on the undersides of its wings. Adults no longer have such a sharp contrast between colors. The bird develops its full adult coloring over several years. In the wild, size is more useful than color for telling males and females apart.
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The 2024 list describes the eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) as a bird that lives in Georgia year-round, passes through during migration, and spends the winter here. Adults have pale heads and white patches on their shoulders. It is more often found in lowlands and open areas and looks less like an eagle that nests on cliffs high in the mountains. The same list records the steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) in Georgia in summer and while passing through, but does not list it as living here year-round. The greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga) and lesser spotted eagle (Clanga pomarina) are smaller and have different markings on their wings. The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is larger and more heavily built. Its tail is shaped like a wedge and is white in adults. The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is much smaller. The griffon vulture, cinereous vulture, and bearded vulture have different body shapes and fly differently. These eagles do not yet have separate pages in this atlas.
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It poses no immediate danger to people on an ordinary hike. Do not pick it up. If you see a large, dark eagle with a golden nape in the mountains, it is more likely to be this species than a buzzard. A young bird also has white at the base of its tail.
The map shows records of sightings of this bird. According to the regional table, its distribution is confirmed in Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and Kakheti. There are only isolated records from Shida Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti, which do not confirm its distribution there. These records do not confirm nesting either. According to a 2024 list, the bird lives in Georgia year-round; this assessment applies to the country as a whole. Its presence should not be assumed to be equally likely in lowland towns and on the treeless Colchian Plain. Named nesting areas include the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus main range and ridges branching from it (including Gagra, Bzyb, Chkhalta, Kodori, Svaneti, Egrisi, Racha, Kharuli, Alevi, Mtiuleti, Gudamakari, Kartli and Kakheti), as well as the Adjara-Imereti Range in the Lesser Caucasus. During the nesting season, it is found in upper mountain forests and high mountain meadows, where there are open places to hunt. In winter, it moves around more in the Caucasus and may appear in lowlands, on plateaus, in semi-deserts and in the floodplains of large rivers. It has been described as a wandering bird in wetlands along the Black Sea coast. Nests in the Caucasus have been recorded at about 920–2400 m, most often at 1400–1800 m. It often hunts above its nest, near the upper edge of the forest. Older records of nests or eggs in Georgia come from the following places: Lagodekhi Reserve, Matsimi Gorge, 1840 m (1978); Darial Gorge, Terek, 1480 m (1982); Bzyb Range (1984); Dusheti District, Lomisi Range, 1910 m (1988); Kazbegi District, Sno area, 1870 m (1990); Borjomi Reserve, Kvabiskhevi (1991). The Aragvi Protected Landscape’s species list names it among the area’s important birds of prey. This is the park’s list, not the records table published on this page.Read moreShow less
The map shows records of sightings of this bird. According to the regional table, its distribution is confirmed in Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and Kakheti. There are only isolated records from Shida Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti, which do not confirm its distribution there. These records do not confirm nesting either. According to a 2024 list, the bird lives in Georgia year-round; this assessment applies to the country as a whole. Its presence should not be assumed to be equally likely in lowland towns and on the treeless Colchian Plain. Named nesting areas include the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus main range and ridges branching from it (including Gagra, Bzyb, Chkhalta, Kodori, Svaneti, Egrisi, Racha, Kharuli, Alevi, Mtiuleti, Gudamakari, Kartli and Kakheti), as well as the Adjara-Imereti Range in the Lesser Caucasus. During the nesting season, it is found in upper mountain forests and high mountain meadows, where there are open places to hunt. In winter, it moves around more in the Caucasus and may appear in lowlands, on plateaus, in semi-deserts and in the floodplains of large rivers. It has been described as a wandering bird in wetlands along the Black Sea coast. Nests in the Caucasus have been recorded at about 920–2400 m, most often at 1400–1800 m. It often hunts above its nest, near the upper edge of the forest. Older records of nests or eggs in Georgia come from the following places: Lagodekhi Reserve, Matsimi Gorge, 1840 m (1978); Darial Gorge, Terek, 1480 m (1982); Bzyb Range (1984); Dusheti District, Lomisi Range, 1910 m (1988); Kazbegi District, Sno area, 1870 m (1990); Borjomi Reserve, Kvabiskhevi (1991). The Aragvi Protected Landscape’s species list names it among the area’s important birds of prey. This is the park’s list, not the records table published on this page.
The golden eagle map uses public iNaturalist observations from Georgia. A region counts as confirmed distribution with at least four records in the table; regions with fewer records remain recorded only. Record counts reflect observation effort, not population density or breeding status.
Of the 189 prey animals identified from food remains and material brought back up at nests in Georgia between 1977 and 1999, 101 were birds and 88 were mammals. The most common were Caucasian snowcock (Tetraogallus caucasicus; 31), Caucasian black grouse (Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi; 24), European hare (Lepus europaeus; 23) and chukar (Alectoris chukar; 16). The prey also included other birds and rodents. The mountain eagle eats dead animals too, especially in winter. What it eats depends on the place and time; remains collected in those years do not give a complete picture of its diet in Georgia today.
It is active during the day. A pair nests in the same territory for years. It may have several nests and use them in turn; up to four were recorded in one study. During observations in the Caucasus, no nesting in trees was recorded. The nests were on hard-to-reach cliffs, in hollows in the rock, and on canyon walls in wooded areas. It also nests in trees more generally. Pairs appear at their nesting sites in late February or early March. They usually lay eggs in the second half of March and sit on them for about 44–45 days. In 41 cases studied, they most often laid two eggs; the average was 1.85 eggs per case. The chicks hatch in the first two weeks of May and leave the nest in late July or early August. In 43 successful nests studied, one chick per nest survived until it left. According to a 2024 list, it nests in Georgia and stays year-round; the list does not identify it as a bird that migrates through Georgia. In the Caucasus, it moves around more often in winter than during the nesting season. It rarely calls. Its call sounds like “kek-kek-kek.” Do not take a wild bird or approach its nest.
In the international Red List, Aquila chrysaetos was assessed in 2021 as having a low risk of extinction. A 2024 Georgian bird list also rates its risk of extinction as low, both worldwide and in Georgia. Yet Georgian Government Decree No. 190 of 2014 places the mountain eagle on Georgia’s Red List as a species at risk of extinction because of its small population. The decree gives its scientific name as Aquila chrysaetus. The list in the 2014 decree has legal force; the 2024 list assesses the species’ status.
In 2018–2019, 25–35 pairs nested in Georgia, though the count was incomplete. Their numbers were thought to have changed little from 2005 to 2018; how they changed over a longer period is unclear. A 2002 estimate put the number of nesting pairs in Georgia at no more than 30. About 20 of these pairs were in eastern Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus. The same estimate suggested that the number of pairs may have risen to 35–40 in the 1990s.
The decline in mountain eagle numbers from 1940 to 1970 was thought to be linked to less available food, traps, poisoned bait, disturbance at nesting sites, and a campaign to kill birds of prey. By 2002, illegal shooting, traps, and poison were considered the main threats. Do not catch or kill wild birds.
Diet
Of the 189 prey animals identified from food remains and material brought back up at nests in Georgia between 1977 and 1999, 101 were birds and 88 were mammals. The most common were Caucasian snowcock (Tetraogallus caucasicus; 31), Caucasian black grouse (Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi; 24), European hare (Lepus europaeus; 23) and chukar (Alectoris chukar; 16). The prey also included other birds and rodents. The mountain eagle eats dead animals too, especially in winter. What it eats depends on the place and time; remains collected in those years do not give a complete picture of its diet in Georgia today.
Behavior
It is active during the day. A pair nests in the same territory for years. It may have several nests and use them in turn; up to four were recorded in one study. During observations in the Caucasus, no nesting in trees was recorded. The nests were on hard-to-reach cliffs, in hollows in the rock, and on canyon walls in wooded areas. It also nests in trees more generally. Pairs appear at their nesting sites in late February or early March. They usually lay eggs in the second half of March and sit on them for about 44–45 days. In 41 cases studied, they most often laid two eggs; the average was 1.85 eggs per case. The chicks hatch in the first two weeks of May and leave the nest in late July or early August. In 43 successful nests studied, one chick per nest survived until it left. According to a 2024 list, it nests in Georgia and stays year-round; the list does not identify it as a bird that migrates through Georgia. In the Caucasus, it moves around more often in winter than during the nesting season. It rarely calls. Its call sounds like “kek-kek-kek.” Do not take a wild bird or approach its nest.
Conservation
In the international Red List, Aquila chrysaetos was assessed in 2021 as having a low risk of extinction. A 2024 Georgian bird list also rates its risk of extinction as low, both worldwide and in Georgia. Yet Georgian Government Decree No. 190 of 2014 places the mountain eagle on Georgia’s Red List as a species at risk of extinction because of its small population. The decree gives its scientific name as Aquila chrysaetus. The list in the 2014 decree has legal force; the 2024 list assesses the species’ status.
In 2018–2019, 25–35 pairs nested in Georgia, though the count was incomplete. Their numbers were thought to have changed little from 2005 to 2018; how they changed over a longer period is unclear. A 2002 estimate put the number of nesting pairs in Georgia at no more than 30. About 20 of these pairs were in eastern Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus. The same estimate suggested that the number of pairs may have risen to 35–40 in the 1990s.
The decline in mountain eagle numbers from 1940 to 1970 was thought to be linked to less available food, traps, poisoned bait, disturbance at nesting sites, and a campaign to kill birds of prey. By 2002, illegal shooting, traps, and poison were considered the main threats. Do not catch or kill wild birds.
Short answers to the most important questions about Golden eagle.
Yes. As of 2024, it has been confirmed that this bird nests in Georgia and stays here year-round.
It is found mainly in the upper parts of mountain forests, rocky gorges and nearby high mountain meadows in the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. Nests have been recorded in the past at Lagodekhi, Dariali, Lomisi, Sno, Borjomi’s Kvabiskhevi and the Bzyb Range. The map shows its distribution by region based on the confirmed status given in the table. Historical nest records do not, by themselves, change that status.
It is a large, dark brown eagle with a golden patch on the back of its head. Feathers cover its legs down to the toes. Young eagles have white at the base of the tail and often have white patches on their wings. It is much larger than a buzzard.
Birds of this species are about 66–102 cm long and weigh 3.5–4.5 kg. With their wings spread, the distance from one wingtip to the other is about 1.8–2.3 m. Females are larger than males.
Caucasian snowcock, Caucasian black grouse, hare and keklitstukha were identified most often in prey remains collected in Georgia between 1977 and 1999. It also eats the flesh of dead animals. These older findings do not give a complete picture of what it eats today.
According to 2024 records, it is found throughout the year. During the nesting season, it stays in the mountains. In winter, it moves around more in the Caucasus and may also appear in lowlands.
Yes. This bird nests and stays in the same area year-round. During observations in the Caucasus, the birds laid eggs mostly in the second half of March. The chicks left the nest in late July or early August.
Encountering it is usually not dangerous. Keep away from its nest, and do not catch wild birds. It is classified as LC globally. Its category in the 2014 Red List was VU D1; in the 2024 list, it is LC at the country level.
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
