A first detailed description of building a new nest and new data on the courtship behaviour of golden eagle

Abstract

The nest building and courtship behaviours of the golden eagle are poorly represented in the scientific literature. The paper reports on the first detailed description of building a new nest by a pair of golden eagles. Reciprocal pendulum flight by the pair as part of a pre-breeding courtship display is described for the first time. The “mock attack” between the members of the pair is confirmed to serve the courtship function.

Keywords

• nest building
• display
• reciprocal pendulum flight
• mock attack