136 KNOWING BIRDS THROUGH STORIES 



lected it is often in the midst of a swamp, on a small island, 

 or in some equally inaccessible place, and the nest is built 

 of large sticks placed in the forks of a large tree. It is 

 surprizing how large some of these sticks are — pieces 

 five or six feet long and two inches thick not being un- 

 usual. Grapevines and smaller sticks are piled on these 

 to form an almost flat nest. The same nest is used year 

 after year, merely a few sticks being added by way of 

 repair. Even tho the nest is robbed the birds seldom 

 desert it. 



The bald eagle can scarcely be mistaken for any other 

 bird because, first, it is larger than the hawks and the buz- 

 zards, and, second, its head and neck are snowy white, 

 something we never see in any other bird of prey. At pres- 

 ent the bald eagle lives mostly in the timbered regions 

 near the coast; but also in many places throughout the 

 interior of North America, though it is there less common. 



