Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) Fact Sheet: Distribution & Habitat

(Thiollay 1994)

Northern hemisphere distribution

• Eurasia
• North America (Alaska to northern Mexico highlands)
• Northern Africa and large Mediterranean islands

(Thiollay 1994)

• Open landscapes of mountains, plateaus and steppes
• Ideal habitat: deeply cut canyons bordered by open mountain slopes and rocky points (Beebe 1974)
• Chooses sparse vegetative cover
• Sea level to high mountain elevations
  
  • Over 5,500 m (18,044 ft) in Himalayas
• In general, absent from densely populated areas and intensely farmed areas. (Watson 1997).
• In historic times, occupied Appalachian mountains of eastern U.S. in areas where trees had been removed by settlers
  • Fire suppression and forest regeneration has helped eliminate much of the open habitat favored by golden eagles (Spofford 1971)
• One of densest nesting populations in North America found in Denali National Park (McIntyre et al. 2008)

Golden Eagle distribution.

Adapted from www.d-maps.com according to IUCN fact sheet. Click here or on map for detailed distribution (IUCN).