Golden eagle

Lord of the mountains

The golden eagle is the biggest bird of prey in Uzbekistan's mountains. Its wingspan is more than 2 metres! A golden eagle spots a hare from the sky and dives at 300 km/h. Since ancient times, people in Central Asia have trained golden eagles to hunt — a tradition called berkutchi.

The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is the most widespread large eagle of the Northern Hemisphere; in Uzbekistan it nests in the Western Tian Shan, Zaamin and Hisor mountains. Wingspan up to 2.3 m, dive speed 320 km/h — one of the fastest birds. It hunts hares, marmots and even young mountain goats. Pairs mate for life and build huge nests on cliffs. Central Asia has a thousand-year tradition of berkutchi — training golden eagles to hunt foxes; Uzbekistan is reviving it.

Fun facts

• A diving golden eagle reaches 320 km/h — faster than a train!
• A golden eagle's eyesight is 8 times sharper than a human's.
• Hunting with golden eagles in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan is a tradition over 1,000 years old.