Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is a very large dark-brown eagle with a golden-brown nape, long broad wings and powerful feathered legs and talons. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It soars over mountains and open country, using speed and agility to capture hares, rabbits and other ground animals, and nests on cliffs or in large trees. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).