© 2006 Julie Zickefoose ...Science Art-Birds

Title: Golden Eagle, Magdalena, NM (Aquila chrysaetos)
Artist: Julie Zickefoose (for further information, click on the artist's name)
Image size: 8 1/2" x 11"
Media: transparent watercolor
Date: 2006
Indigo Hill Arts, Whipple, OH (artist's home)


The artist notes: " This painting of an adult golden eagle soaring over high desert near Magdalena, New Mexico was created for the cover of the Journal of Raptor Research. It is one of my more successful works, from a standpoint of making a bird appear to float on air."

The Golden Eagle can lug up to eight pounds of prey in flight. Unburdened, they can reach 80 mph, with dives clocking in at 200, but usually keep it to around 30 mph. As the artist shows, these birds hold their wings out flat and glide or soar--in between slow, strong, wingbeats. This is just the sort of economical flight you would expect in a big bird with a huge home range.