20 NOETH AMEEICAN EAGLES. 



region it is said to hunt moles {Sfolax imllasii and Spalax typhlus) 

 and to seize them while they are working below the surface of the 

 soil. It preys somewhat also on mice, rats, and other small mammals, 

 occasionally even a dog. In some sections shepherds complain that, 

 whenever opportunity offers, this eagle attacks weak or sick sheep 

 and kills a good many lambs. It apparently feeds readily on any 

 kind of carrion. 



ECONOMIC STATUS. 



Altogether, the gray sea eagle appears to do more harm than good, 

 and in some localities laws have been passed providing for its destruc- 

 tion. In North America the species occupies an area so small and 

 so far to the northward that it is not likely ever to become an economic 

 factor of importance. 



GOLDEN EAGLE. 



(Aquila chrysa'etos.) 



Few if any eagles are better kaiown than the golden eagle, nor more 

 nearly comport with the idea of strength and independence asso- 

 ciated with such birds. With one possible exception no eagle has 

 so wide a geographical distribution: it is found at some season of 

 the year throughout most of Europe, northern Africa, Asia south to 

 the Himalayas, and in North America south to Mexico. It breeds, 

 however, principally in hilly or mountainous regions, preferably in 

 unsettled parts, and in North America chiefly in the north and west, 

 but also along the Appalachian Mountain ranges to southern North 

 Carolina. 



The adult golden eagle, or 'mountain eagle,' as it is sometimes 

 called in the western United States, is about 3 feet in length, 7 feet 

 in expanse of wing, and sometimes weighs 12 pounds or more. It 

 is entirely dark brown in color, with pointed yellowish brown feathers 

 covering the hind neck, whence the name 'golden' eagle. Young 

 birds are more blackish and have the base of the tail white, from 

 which they have been called ' ring-tailed ' eagles, a plumage retained 

 for at least three years; but the species may always be distinguished 

 from the bald eagle, the only other eagle of common occurrence in 

 the United States, by the feathering of the legs, which in the golden 

 eagle extends quite down to the base of the toes. 



GENERAL HABITS. 



While it does not winter in the most northern parts of its range, 

 the golden eagle is not, strictly speaking, migratory, for, being able 

 to endure the severest cold, its movements into regions not occupied 

 in summer are more in the nature of wanderings, induced doubtless 

 by search for food, and probably are seldom extensive. It can 



