The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-12-07
EAGLES.

l LA ULlLSs
 High OCT the weary uproar, silent
 seen,
 Sailing sedate, in majesty serene,
 Now midst the pillard'd d spray, sublime
 ly lost,
 And now, emerging, down the rapids
 tost,
 Glides the Bald Eagle gazing. calm and
 slow.
 Ger all the horrors of the scene below;
 Intent alone to sate himself with blood
 from the torn victims of the raging
 food Wilson.
 The bald eagle is the larger and by far the most common of the two spe- cies of eagles to be found in the East ernS tates. It is handsome bird, and, physically at least, worthy of the great distinction it enjoys by reason of its adoption as the American national em- blem. No other American bird of It's size has so wide q geographical range, and but few have such great strength and powers of flight.
 As in the case of many other birds of prey, the female is considerably larger and more powerful than her mate, and 1 will measure perhaps three feet from the tip of her bill to the end of her tail The outstretched wings have a wide expanse in alarge specimen, up wards of eight feet from tip to tip and on these the bird can either fly rapidly forward, soar height upon height until lost in the clouds, or speed eastward with the velocity of meteor.
 The head, neck and tail of the adult bald eagle are white; the rest of the plumage is deep brown. The bill is bright straw yellow. In miniature | birds, the entire plumage is brown, mottled here and there with white, and the bill is black. These young birds resemble golden eagles 50 clostly that it is extremey difficult to positively identify them but golden eagles are so rare in the Eastern States, the chances are that any eagle we see is bald eagle.
 This bird is almost always found near the coast or in the vicinity of some large river, where he can easily ob- tain the fish which form the principal part of his food. He can catch fish him.
 
 easier ways than that to obtain 1t. Fishing is an uncertain and laborious means of livelihood, and the bald eagle is not overfond of work, especial ly when it entails repeated plunges in- to cold water Hek nows that the fish hawk is a more skillful fisherman than he and he knows that with his superior strength it is an easy matter to rob fish hawk. So, as highwayman might watch, from some hillside, the approach of a staged coach along the post road, the bald eagle from some lofty crag or tall tree, watches the movements of fish hawk below him. The osprey wheels silently over the water, search ing the surface for that glint of silver which marks the position of his prey. Suddenly he pauses in his sweeping flight and prepares to descend, but per haps the fish he caught sight of as ud- denly glides downward out of danger, and the osprey circles away as before. Again the flash of sunlight upon fin or scales arrests his attention, and again he pauses in his flight. Poised in the air above his intended victim, he flaps his wings several times in quick success
  then on half closed pinions he hurls himself downward. He strikes the wa ter with great force. throwing the ] spray high into the air There is | momentary struggle beneath the sur | face and then he emerges, wet but ex- ultant, with his prey. All this time, l the great bald eagle has marked with | interest his every movement, ] and now the movement for action has | arrived. With fierce scream he drops | into the air, and sets sail in the wake of | the laboring fish hawk. The latter at- 1 tempts to rise and thus avoid his | savage foe, but, handicapped, he is quickly overtaken, and, uttering cries which we must not translate into Eng fish, lets fall his hard-won prize. At once the eagle checks his flight, pauses just long enough to take good aim, and with a downward rush snatches the falling fish in his talons ere it touches the water. When there are no fish l hawks to rob- he hunts for himself, | and, catches, besides fish, wild fowl, 1 sometimes young lambs and pigs, and | has been known to attack even chil- 1ren. Though he doubtless prefers fresh food. when hungry he is not sensitive. and preys upon the dead fish and other carrion which is washed up on the shore. Sometimes, too, he drives away the vultures from he carcass which is theirs by right, and keep them off until he has satis- jed his hunger.
 The nest of the bald eagle is usually built in large tree, very often in a swamp It is a bulky flair made of sticks, moss, hay, sods and rubbish ! md, as is repaired and added to year liter year, it soon becomes a very con- picuous black mass. The eggs are wo to three in number, and dull ] white in color They measure nearly hree inches in length. When the -oung are first matched. they are cov- red with soft white down, which grad lally gives way to gray tone as the ,lumage develops. They do not arrive | t maturity for about four years, when 1 ,rown plumage is replaced on the head. leck and tail by the white feather of he adult bird.
 The golden eagle is a bird of the far