Check out this story from the Jackson Hole Daily:

A female golden eagle captured as part of a research project in Buffalo Valley might weigh more than any other scientists have found in the United States.

The bird, captured Nov. 13 by Beringia South researchers, weighed 18.5 pounds. Female golden eagles in America typically weigh 8 to 13 pounds.

Bryan Bedrosian, one of the researchers who captured the bird, said the animal’s crop, a muscular pouch in a bird’s throat used to temporarily store food, was “about the size of a softball” and full of meat at the time of capture, which may have contributed an extra 1.5 pounds.

But even without the full crop, the animal still has a shot at the record books.

The rest of the story is here.

Anyone who has worked with birds of prey (yo, Susan) is reading this thinking Uff Dah! The golden we use for education at The Raptor Center is between 11 - 12 pounds. I can't imagine an 18 pound golden eagle.

Yikes!