THE WHITE-HEADED EAGLE. 457 



return from the battle-field, he was on exhibition in various 

 places where funds were being raised for suffering soldiers and 

 their families, and by September 25th, 1865, had been the 

 means of securing a fund of $25,000. The sum of $20,000 

 has been offered for him, and at the Centennial Exhibition 

 of 1876, at Philadelphia, he was an object of universal ad- 

 miration. Here he would stand on his perch in such per- 

 fect repose as to puzzle a stranger to determine whether 

 he were a living bird or a specimen of taxidermy. In 

 this attitude, he reminded one of one way in which the 

 Eagle generally spends much of his time, namely, perched 

 on some conspicuous limb of a tall tree by a large stream 

 or body of water, and remaining as motionless as if wrapt 

 in profound meditation. We regret to say that Old Abe 

 has recently passed away. 



The White-headed Eagle is about 3 feet long; body dark- 

 brown, tinged with golden, many of the feathers being 

 elegantly tipped with golden-yellow, strongly contrasting 

 with, and delicately shading into, the darker parts; head and 

 tail, snow-white; eyes and feet, bright yellow. The epithet 

 ''Bald" has no foundation except in appearance, as the 

 head is well covered with long, pointed feathers. The 

 young have little or no white, and reach the mature plum- 

 age about the third year, or in some instances, it is thought, 

 not till some ten years. According to Coues, "the imma- 

 ture birds average larger than the adults; the famous ' Bird 

 of Washington ' being a case in point." 



In structure and in general appearance the Eagle must be 

 regarded as the most perfect ideal of the birds of prey. In 

 repose or in motion, gracefulness, combined with strength, is 

 expressed to perfection. Whether associated with the gliding 

 stream, the placid lake, the tempest-tossed ocean, or the rug- 

 ged mountain, he is ever a grand ornament to the landscape. 



