🦅 Golden eagle vs Great horned owl 🦉
The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the great horned owl. The golden eagle weighs about 3 times as much as the great horned owl.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦅 Golden eagle | 🦉 Great horned owl |
|---|---|---|
| Size The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the great horned owl. | 28 to 33 in70 to 84 cm1 | 18 to 25 in46 to 63 cm2 |
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the great horned owl yet. | 80 mph129 km/h1 | no checked number yet |
| Weight The golden eagle weighs about 3 times as much as the great horned owl. | 6.6 to 14 lb3 to 6.1 kg1 | 2.2 to 3.8 lb998 g to 1.7 kg3 |
| Lives The golden eagle usually lives about twice as long as the great horned owl. | 32 years32 years1 | 13 to 15 years13 to 15 years3 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | rabbits, hares and other small mammals, and some birds and reptiles | mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | open country from the seashore to high mountains across Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America | forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South America |
Which one? Golden eagle or great horned owl
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the great horned owl yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
10 things to know about Golden eagle vs Great horned owl
- The golden eagle: A big brown bird of prey with very wide wings.
- The great horned owl: Its "horns" are just feathers, and it can turn its head far around.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are birds.
- The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the great horned owl: 1 against 2.
- The golden eagle weighs about 3 times as much as the great horned owl. That is 1 for the golden eagle and 3 for the great horned owl.
- The golden eagle usually lives about twice as long as the great horned owl. Usual lifespans: 1 for the golden eagle and 3 for the great horned owl.
- Both eat meat. The golden eagle eats rabbits, hares and other small mammals, and some birds and reptiles; the great horned owl eats mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks.
- The golden eagle lives in open country from the seashore to high mountains across Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. The great horned owl lives in forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South America. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The golden eagle: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
- The great horned owl: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 5
Wow facts
🦅 Golden eagle
- A golden eagle can soar over open country with very wide wings.
- It lives from the seashore to high mountains.
- It eats mostly rabbits, hares and other small mammals.
🦉 Great horned owl
- Its wings make almost no sound.
- It coughs up a pellet of fur and bones after a meal.
- It often nests in an old nest that a hawk or crow built.
Questions kids ask about Golden eagle and Great horned owl
Which is bigger, golden eagle or great horned owl?
The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the great horned owl: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, golden eagle or great horned owl?
The golden eagle weighs about 3 times as much as the great horned owl. That is 1 for the golden eagle and 3 for the great horned owl.
Which lives longer, golden eagle or great horned owl?
The golden eagle usually lives about twice as long as the great horned owl. Usual lifespans: 1 for the golden eagle and 3 for the great horned owl.
What do golden eagle and great horned owl eat?
Both eat meat. The golden eagle eats rabbits, hares and other small mammals, and some birds and reptiles; the great horned owl eats mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks.
Where do golden eagle and great horned owl live?
The golden eagle lives in open country from the seashore to high mountains across Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. The great horned owl lives in forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South America. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do golden eagles eat great horned owls?
The golden eagle eats rabbits, hares and other small mammals, and some birds and reptiles. Great horned owls are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Do great horned owls eat golden eagles?
The great horned owl eats mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks. Golden eagles are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the great horned owl.
Who would win, golden eagle or great horned owl?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/golden-eagle-vs-great-horned-owl
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Aquila chrysaetos (golden eagle), checked 10 November 2026.
- National Park Service, Bryce Canyon, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Golden Spike, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.