Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/356

 348 EAGLE the wing, but is pounced upon on the ground from a great height with rarely failing preci- sion. Its food consists of young fawns, rac- coons, hares, wild turkeys, and other birds and animals of similar size, and, when hard pressed by hunger, of carrion ; capable of going seve- ral days without food, it gorges itself when opportunity offers. Its strength is great, its weight about 12 Ibs. ; it is able to withstand extreme cold, and pursues its prey in the most violent storms. The voice is harsh and scream- ing, and very loud at the breeding season. The plumage does not attain its full beauty until the fourth year; the American Indians are fond of using the tail feathers as ornaments for their persons, pipes, and weapons. The _nest is large, consists of a rude collection of sticks, and is placed on some inaccessible cliff; the eggs are generally two, of a dull white, with brownish shades, 8J- in. long and 2 in diam- eter at the widest part ; they are laid in Febru- ary or March ; the young, when able to pro- vide for themselves, are driven from the eyry. This bird is long-lived, individuals, it is said, having been kept in captivity for more than a century. In proportion to their size, the eagles are less courageous and less powerful than the falcons. The noble nature of the eagle, like that of the lion, is mostly a creation of the imagination, founded on external char- acters which have no corresponding internal qualities; he attacks where he is sure of vic- tory, gorges himself like a glutton, patiently bears forced abstinence from food, and at last soils his beak with carrion ; the king bird and the shrike are far his superiors in bravery, and all the qualities which have been specially as- sumed for him can be found in great perfection in many common birds. The eagle is monog- amous, and the mated pair are generally not far from each other ; the same nest is used for many years. The scent of the eagle is feeble, but his sight is exceedingly keen. Like the condor, the eagle has been accused of carrying off little children to its nest, but such instan- ces in both birds must be very rare, though they may have occurred. Another species of this genus is the spotted or rough-footed eagle (A. navia, Gmel.), smaller than the golden, of a brownish color, with black white-tipped tail and wings yellow spotted ; it is found in the mountains of central and southern Europe and northern Africa, and preys upon the smaller animals. In the genus haliaetus (Sav.) belong the fishing or sea eagles, the best known and largest of which is the bald or white-headed eagle (H. leucocephalus, Linn.). The bill is 2| in. long, very robust, convex above ; the head is large, and flat above ; neck short and thick ; body large, wings long, and tail rounded ; the tarsus only 3 in. long, bare for its lower two thirds, and covered with large scales ; the feet are short and robust, and the toes are free, rough, and tuberculous beneath, with very sharp curved claws. The plumage is com- pact and imbricated ; the feathers of the head, neck, and breast are narrow and pointed, and of the other parts broad and rounded; there is a bare space between the bill and eye with a few bristly feathers ; the eyebrows are bare and very prominent. In the adult the bill, cere, iris, and feet are yellow, the first three being often almost white; the general color of the plumage is chocolate-brown, the feathers with paler margins ; the head, greater part of neck, tail and its coverts, white ; the quills are brownish black, with lighter shafts. The length is about 3 ft., and the extent of wings 7 ft.; the female is somewhat larger. In the young bird the bill is black above, bluish gray at the end of the lower mandible ; the feathers, which are white in the adult, are dark brown like the rest of the plumage, mar- gined with lighter ; the head and tail become white between the third and tenth year, ac- cording to circumstances. It is very generally distributed over North America. Its usual food Bald Eagle (Haliaotus leucocephalus). is fish, but it eats the flesh of animals when it can get it, and often seizes small quadrupeds and birds of inferior flight, and when pressed by hunger will feed on decaying carcasses. When the fish hawk follows the shoals of fish in the rivers in spring, the eagle sits watching from the top of a tall tree ; as soon as the for- mer rises with a fish, and bends his course for the shore to devour it, the latter mounts above him, and forces him to give up his prey ; the eagle closes his wings, drops down with great quickness, and seizes the fish before it reaches the water. The flight of this bird is very ma- jestic, accomplished by easy flappings; it sails along with extended wings, and, according to Audubon, can ascend until it disappears from view, without any apparent motion of the wings or tail ; and from the greatest heights it descends with a rapidity which cannot be fol- lowed by the eye. All authors are agreed as to the cowardice of the eagle when it is sud- denly surprised or meets with unexpected re-