The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-03-25
THE KING OF BIRDS
THE HABITS, RAUN:S AND
HOMES OF EAGLES.
Making Che Young Ones Irly-Tt Is Often
Survival of tho Fittcst in the Fierce
Calf.

ltSt-
hcsses Of Tennessee, which have figured
so often of late in the stories and novels
CT John Fox. Charles Eghcrt Craddocll
and others, have among other respect
inspiring natives many specimens of
the American national bird, the bald
headed eagle, which makes it's eyrie
among the lofty and ragged clefts and
crags and pinnacles of the ranges, says
the New York Post. 1t is found on the
Stone mountain, the great Roane, 6,296
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 a never-failing demand,
and as a result there are many mount
aineers who have become expert catch
ers Of these mountain prizes and who
often reap rich rewards in return for
per!lous risks and daring adventures
Young eagles bring from $50 to $50, and
occasionally $500. while eagles that
are Of some age and Of great size cost
as much as $500, these being rarely cap
tured, however. Eagles which are
killed in attempt to capture them are
valuable to taXidermists, who always
find an easy market for these great
stuffed birds. Their feathers, especially
those of wing and tail, are likewise sold
fer good prices. The eagle either builds
its nest upon the top of mighty tree
growing far up in the mountain, amid
myriads of twining vines and the thick.
est and most inaccessible bushes or
shrubs, or Oh the summit of high
rock. 1t is always large one strongly
and comfortably built, large sticks and
branches being laid together, nearly fiat
and bound with tWining vines. The
spacious inside is covered with hair and
moses so infinitely woven together
that no wind can penetrate. In this abode
the mother bird lays two eggs, which
are great curiosities. The long end of
the egg tapers down to a point, while
the color is dirty or brownish red,
with many dots and spots upon it. The
young birds are driven forth from the
nest by their savage parents to scratch
for themselves as soon as they are able
to fly, and no training whatever is CIV
en- them by the old bird. That is left
to their instinct, which hunger and ne
cessity develop. There is no going
back to the old home for the young ca
gle, 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 off the crags
or rocks, and as they must take to their
wings or fall, this is how they learn to
fly at once. 1t takes three years for
young eagle to gain it's full and com
plete plumage, and for the development
Of it's strength Once full grown, pro-
vided he does not meet with violent
death. an eagle should live between 80
and 100 years. Up in the mountains
the eagle finds it as hard to gain sub
sistence as do the feathered grumblers
of the plains below. The precarious-
ness Of his existence and the wild man
ner in which food is gathered seem to
give the bird greater ferocity the older
it grows. The eagle ranges among the
mountains and valleys in pairs, their
young never following them, but doing
the best they can by themselves The
stern, unsociable 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 strong
er, most Of the prey belongs to him,
and he allows the female to eat but a
lf,,,y Cd, tnfu l.
his beak. If the female is the strong
er land she generally Isl. the male bird
covers and winces under many fierce
blow from his unfeeling wife, no mat
ter how small the morsel he is trying to
get. But when danger threatens, no
human pair battle SO formidable for
| themselves and for each other as do
two eagles. 1t is a noteworthy fact
that each male has but one mate dur
| ing his life time. If the female is killed
or captured, the surviving male be-
comes an eagle hermit, and flercer than
ever
Eagles are often seen near their
nests together. but when the sun is
shining, they frequently take their ma
jestic flights straight toward it. until
they disappear from sight Sitting up-
on the mountain side their vision is SO
keen they can see far down the valley
sheep or young goat, big turkey or
rooster, small pig, rabbit, or par
! fridge. and almost instantaneously they
! descend upon their victim. Often. when
q large calf or goat is to be attacked
l.
birds Will unite and remove the carcass
to a safe spot, where they will imme-
diately begin to fight it out to see which
of them is entitled to the choicest bits,
and it is truly a survival Of the fittest