164 FALCONS, HAWKS, EAGLES, ETC. 



feathered all around to the toes, outer and middle toes webbed at base ; 

 bill large, long ; wings long, pointed ; tail mod- 

 erate, rounded, or graduated ; feathers of occiput 

 and nape lanceolate. Sexes alike. Adults : whole 

 bird dark brown, lanceolate feathers of hind 

 neck and those on legs lighter brown ; wing 

 quills black ; tail blackish, more or less clouded 

 or irregularly banded with grayish. Young : like 

 adult, but basal part of tail plain white, under 

 parts white beneath the surface. Male : length 

 o0-35, extent about 6^ to 7 feet, wing 23.00-24.70, 

 tail 14-15, bill 1.50-1.62. Female : length 35-40, 

 extent about 7 to 7i feet, wing 25-27, tail 15-16, 

 bill 1.68-1.85. 



Distribution. — Northern portion of northern 

 hemisphere, chiefly in mountainous regions ; south 

 in North America to central Mexico. Breeds 

 From Biological Survey, U. S. throughout its range. 



Dept. of Agriculture. jVg^f . _ ^ platform of sticks lined with straw, 



Fig. 233. Golden Eagle. ^^.^^^^ ^^^^^ leaves, fur, or feathers, placed in 

 high trees or on a ledge of a cliff. Eggs: usually 2, white, irregularly 

 marked, some almost immaculate, others thickly blotched with b'rown. 



Food. — Mainly mammals and birds, including squirrels, prairie dogs, 

 spermophiles, rabbits, fawns, lambs, turkeys, grouse, and waterfowl. 



Ill his mountain home the golden eagle scours the ridges and sides 

 of precipices for grouse and marmots, and when these become scarce 

 or too wary from long acquaintance with his raids, he descends like 

 a meteor on half folded wings to the valley, where he beats the 

 sagebrush for jack rabbits, sage grouse, or any game worthy of his 

 royal quest. 



The eagles are often seen hunting in pairs, and doubtless find 

 mutual advantage other than companionship in the method. In 

 Salt Lake Valley, at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains, a pair 

 were once found eating a full grown gray fox they had just killed, 

 which it is doubtful if either could have caught or overpowered 

 alone. Under stress of hunger or when game is scarce, the birds are 

 said to take young lambs or kids, and even to eat animals found 

 dead on the prairie, in this way getting the poison put out for 

 coj^otes. But onlj'- extreme necessity could make them stoop to 

 such ignominious quarry, as nothing short of the extermination of 

 the buffalo and other legitimate game could have brought the 

 haughty chiefs adorned with their regal feathers to beg alms. 



The eagles sweep over the plains and valleys, but the mountains 

 are their natural homes. On San Francisco Mountain in Arizona I 

 found a pair coming every morning to drink and bathe in a pool of 

 clear snow water above the timber at 11,000 feet. 



Vernon Bailey. 



