120 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



THE FEMALE EAGLE UPON THE NEST. 



After photographing this nest our 

 friends guided us to the other grove 

 not far away, where a pair of breeding 

 birds were said to be. and we had no 

 difficulty in locating the spot. Indeed 

 this great nest, which was considerably 

 larger than the other, was the most con- 

 spicuous object in the grove. being 

 placed in the upper crotches of a large 

 dead pine, where the watchful birds 

 might obtain an unobstructed view. A 

 long distance observation through our 

 binoculars showed the nest to be occu- 

 pied, — the white head of the parent bird 

 showing distinctly over the top, — so 

 making a detour of about half a mile, I 

 attempted an approach near enough to 

 secure a photograph of the eagle upon 

 the nest. The birds proved extremely 

 wary, however, and scrub palmetto 

 rather difficult to make one's way 

 through quietly, and while still about a 

 hundred yards distant the bird arose and 

 circled about overhead, uttering a series 

 of rapid shrill cries, accomoanied by a 

 low scolding and hissing when directly 

 above me. The male bird, which had 

 been soaring far overhead, now joined 

 its mate and they continued their circling 

 about with cries of alarm. Wq could 

 distinP'uish a difference in their calls, — 



that of the male being a rapid, whistling 

 alarm or cackle, and uttered more regu- 

 larly than that of the female : the plum- 

 age of both sexes being alike, these birds 

 are otherwise indistinguishable. Their 

 conspicuous markings, — in the adult a 

 uniform brownish-black, with the head, 

 neck and tail of pure white,-^ and their 

 large size, with a wing-spread of over 

 six feet, give to these bn-ds an imposing 

 appearance, and to watch them at close 

 range in their native haunts was a rare 

 privilege which we thoroughly enjoyed. 



By partially concealing myself in the 

 scrub palmetto and standing in one po- 

 sition for about an hour, I was able to 

 secure a photograph of the nest and both 

 birds, and finally another of the female 

 about to alight upon the nest. I then 

 withdrew to where my companions had 

 been waiting — being followed by the agi- 

 tated birds until well out of the grove — 

 and planned to return the following day 

 for further observations. 



There was a spring feeling in the air 

 as we went ashore the next morning, with 

 two cameras, climbing-irons, life l^elt and 

 ropes, prepared to spend a day with the 

 eagles and if possible to make a close 

 scrutiny of the nest and its contents. 

 There had been rain in the early morn- 

 ing with clearing about seven, the tem- 

 perature was 65, and a fresh clear atmos- 

 ])here made every breath exhilarating. 



THE EAGLE ABOUT TO LIGHT UPON HER 

 NEST. 



