The herald., 1897-12-27
KING OF THE BIRDS
HABITS AND HOMES OF THE
EAGLE IN TENNEssIH
Their Wonderful Sight and Great Age.
Three Years For an
Eagle to Grow

&e8lo % 0ToW
The mountain solitudes and fastnesses
Of Tennessee. which have figured 90
often of late in the stories and novels Of
John Fox. Charles Egbert Craddock and
others, have, among other respect-in-
spring natives, many specimens Of the
American national bird. the bald-headed
eagle, which makes its eyrie among tha
lofty and rugged clefts and crags and
pinnacles Of the ranges. It II found on
Stone Mountain, the great Roane. 62s6
feet high, on the Bald at $3.50 feet, and
the Great Smoky range. which rises $3.50
feet, on the Bullhead and in many other
lofty places.
For these splendid birds there is new
er-failing demand. and as result there
are many mountaineers who have be-
come expert catchers Of these mountain
prizes, and who often reap rich rewards
in return for perilous risks ana daring
adventures. Young eagles bring from
$40 to $50, and occasionally $lO0 wniie
eagles that are of some age and OF great
size cost as much as $500, these being
rarely captured, however Eagles which
are killed in the attempt to capture them
are valuable to taxidermists, VINO al
wavs find an easy market for these great
stuffed birds. Their feathers. especially
those of wing and tail, are likewise sold
for good prices.
The eagle either builds its nest upon
the top of a mighty tree growing far
up on the mountain. among myriaos OF
'twining vines, and the thickest ana
most inaccessible bushes or shrubs, or
on the summit of a high rock. IT Is al
ways a large one, strongly ana COM
fortably built, large sticks and prancnes
being laid together, nearly nat, anQ
bound with twining vines. The spacious
Inside is covered with hair ana mosses'
so minutely woven together that no
wind can penetrate. In this abode the
mother bird lays two eggs. whicn are
great curiosities. The long end OF the
egg tapers down to a point, wniie It's
color is a dirt or brownish red, with
many dots and spots upon 1t. The young
birds are driven forth from the nest by
their savage parents to scratch Tor
themselves as soon as they are able to
fly, and no training whatever Is given
them by the old bird. That Is LETT to
their instinct, which hunger and neces-
sity develop. There is no going back
to the old home for the young eagle.
for the mother bird at once tears up
every vestige Of the nest where they
have thriven since birth, and while they
emit plaintive shrieks, darts at them
and pushes them of the crags or rocks,
..k AL tA
or fall, this Is how they learn to ny at
once. 1t takes three years for young
eagle to gain its full and complete
plumage and for the development OF
it's strength. Once full grown, provided
he does not meet with violent death.
an eagle should live between 80 and 100
years.
Up in the mountains the eagle finds 1t
as hard to gain subsistence as do the
feathered grumblers Of the plains below.
The precariousness of his existence and
the wild manner In which food Is gath
cred seem to give the bird greater feroc-
ity the older 1t grows. The eagles range
among the mountains and valleys In
pairs, their young never following. but
doing the best they can by themselves.
The stern, ,unsocial tyranny of the older
birds, beginning with the casting out Of
the eaglets, manifests itself in later
years in their treatment Of their mates
If the male bird be the stronger, most
Of the prey belongs to him, and he allows
the female to eat but a paltry share be-
ltween fierce thrusts Of his beak. II the
female is the stronger (and she generally
|is) the male bird covers and winces un-
der many a fierce blow from his unfeel-
ing wife, no matter how small the NOR
sci he is trying to get. But when danger
threatens, no human pair battle 80 for
midably for themselves and each other
as do two eagles. 1t is noteworthy
fact that each male has but one mate
during his lifetime. If the female Is
killed or captured the surviving male be-
comes an eagle hermit and fiercer than
ever.
Eagles are often seen near their nests
together, but when the sun Is shining
they frequently take their majestic
flight straight toward 1t until they dis
appear from sight. Sitting upon the
mountainside their vision is so keen that
they can see far down In the valley a
sheep or q young goat, a big turkey or
rooster, small pig, rabbit, or part
ridge, and almost instantaneously they
descend upon their victim. Often. when
la large calf or goat Is to be attacked
and carried off four or six Of the great
birds will unite and remove the car
cass to a safe spot, when they will i'm
mediately begin to fight 1t out to see
which Of them Is entitled to the choic-
est bits, and 1t is truly a survival Of
the fittest in such combats as these.
But an eagle Is always confident of his
strength, and rarely overreaches him
self in such conflicts or in his desire for
prey. When lingering by the mountain
rivers watching for ducks or geese, or
even fish, pair of eagles will display
their natural shrewdness. They swoop
from opposite directions upon the fowl.
which tries to escape by diving. and
could outwit one eagle; but suddenly as
the bird comes to the surface Of the
water the second eagle seizes him.
With its wonderful power OF sight,
covering a radius of miles, the eagle
combines a swiftness of flight equally
marvellous. In single night and day
full-grown eagle can fly 1000 miles.
Oftentimes the visitor In the Tennessee
mountains can just see him like little
speck in the sky, moving restlessly and
rapidly in majestic circles about the