THE WHITE-HEADED EAGLE. 455 



the condition of carrion. TJany graceful evolutions have I 

 seen him perform over the putrid carcass of a horse, floating 

 down the river. He has another noted habit, which not 

 only betrays a low taste, but a flagrant dishonesty — that of 

 pilfering the hard-earned prey of the Fish Hawk. Mark 

 this king of birds, so high uplifted above all others of his 

 kind, that he seems enthroned among the clouds. One 

 would think him wrapt in the sublimest meditations, and 

 all unmindful of the hosts of feathered tribes which occupy 

 the ground and the different strata of the lower air; but, 

 lo! no sooner does the Osprey emerge from the waters with 

 his struggling prey, than that piercing eye detects him from 

 afar, and swoops upon him with terrific speed; and, not- 

 withstanding the swiftness and the splendid evolutions 

 achieved by Fandion, he is soon so sorely pressed as to be 

 compelled to drop his prey and make off, saving nothing 

 but his disgust and indignation, which are not infrequently 

 expressed by strong and significant cries. Meanwhile the 

 fish has scarcely escaped the talons of the Fish Hawk when 

 it is grappled by those of the Eagle and borne away for 

 destruction. 



It is decidedly against my inclinations to disclose these 

 unseemly facts concerning the Eagle, especially as he has be- 

 come the symbol of our great nation; but as a narrator 

 of facts in natural history, I cannot be excused. The truth 

 is, that in niceness of habit, our sublime bird is by no 

 means the equal of many of his kindred Raptores; and, 

 while in general appearance he may fitly represent the glory 

 of a nation, on account of the manners above named, he is 

 by no means altogether suggestive of noble principles. Nor 

 is he always brave. Hence Dr. Franklin was not wholly in 

 favor of his adoption for our national seal. Sometimes, 

 however, glaring faults are quite thrown into the shade by 



