It can fly up to 80 mph, though the average speed is 28-32 mph, and has been said to dive at speeds as high as 200 mph at a prey animal or during play. In flight, the wings are held straight out, rather than at an angle as in some other hawks and vultures. Slow, powerful wingbeats alternate with gliding and soaring. The golden eagle has high stamina and has been observed to fly for hours over mountain ridges. Golden eagles are generally silent, though a yelp or mewing cry has been heard occasionally during courtship flight.
Nestlings make faint squeals.
Most golden eagles in Alaska and Canada travel south in autumn when the food supply on their northern range begins to decline. The golden eagle is found in mountainous areas, canyons, shrub-land and grassland. During the winter they are found in shrub-steppe vegetation, also wetlands, river systems and estuaries. Negative Serious damage to the number of livestock by golden eagles is infrequent and localized, however livestock predation has become a problem for ranchers. But because golden eagles are protected under federal law, options for damage control efforts are limited and highly restricted.