Lord of The Skies, A Golden Eagle, Painted in Oil paint with palette knives.

Lord of The Skies, A Golden Eagle, Painted in Oil paint with palette knives.

One of my Masterpieces, painted completely with palette knives, although I did use brushes to paint the eyes.

The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this species typically have white on the tail and often have white markings on the wings. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and large, sharp talons to hunt a variety of prey, mainly hares, rabbits, and marmots and other ground squirrels.^[4] Golden eagles maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as 200 km² (77 sq mi). They build large nests in cliffs and other high places to which they may return for several breeding years. Most breeding activities take place in the spring; they are monogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Females lay up to four eggs, and then incubate them for six weeks. Typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three months. These juvenile golden eagles usually attain full independence in the fall, after which they wander widely until establishing a territory for themselves in four to five years.

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.^[43] Unlike other Aquila species, where the 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.^[4] In addition, some full-grown birds (especially in North America) have white “epaulettes” on the upper part of each scapular feather tract.^[5][44] The bill is dark at the tip, fading to a lighter horn colour, with a yellow cere.^[45] As in many accipitrids, the bare portion of the feet is yellow.^[15] There are subtle differences in colouration among subspecies, described 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.^[36] 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.^[4][46] 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.^[44] 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.^[44][46] Due to the variability between individuals, juvenile eagles cannot be reliably aged by sight alone.^[47] Many golden eagles still have white on the tail during their first attempt at nesting.^[48] The final adult plumage is not fully attained until the birds are between 5+1⁄2 and 6+1⁄2 years old