312 BULLETIN 16 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



use its feet to spring into the air; therefore, if one or both feet are 

 needed to hold its prey, it is handicapped accordingly. From an easy 

 take-oflF on a steep slope it could probably lift its own weight, 14 to 16 

 pounds, or perhaps more. 

 Mr. Kay's notes contain the following interesting items : 



In one instance while at a lofty nest, just as I was about to examine the set 

 of two eggs it contained, the massive bird, entirely unaware of my presence, came 

 sailing in and lit upon the edge of the nest but a few feet away. It was, for me, 

 an anxious moment. However, with a loud call and by waving my hat in the air, 

 the badly frightened eagle immediately took flight. 



On another occasion, while at an elevation of 7,500 feet in the high Sierras, 

 I was crawling on the ground and just emerging from a dense thicket of buck 

 brush after a fruitless search for a fox sparrow's nest, when I noticed a great 

 shadow growing larger and larger on the ground at my feet. Now, as I stood 

 up, I perceived just above my head a great golden eagle with pendant legs 

 and outstretched claws. Quickly seizing a nearby stick and waving it above 

 my head, I just narrowly missed striking the bird, which, apparently greatly 

 surprised at my action, quickly sailed away. It was evident that the bird 

 had mistaken me for some mammal as I emerged from the brush. 



Voice. — The golden eagle is mainly a silent bird. It usually leaves 

 its nest in silence and does not fly around and scream, as so many of 

 the hawks often do. I have no record in my notes of ever having 

 heard it. Bendire (1892) says: "The usual call note is a shrill 'kee,- 

 kee,-kee,' uttered in a high tone ; it is often heard in the early spring 

 before nidification commences. Another note, not so frequently 

 used — one of alarm — is 'kiah-kiah,' repeated a number of times." 



Dawson (1923) writes: "In case of invasion, the king of birds can 

 only lurk anxiously in the offing and give vent to his anxieties by a 

 peculiar screaking, known throughout literature as a 'scream,' cheop' 

 cheop', tsyewk' tsyewk' — slowly. This is a rather pathetic and quite 

 inadequate sound, if intimidation be intended. Indeed, on occasion, 

 it sounds more like the meditations of a young 'broiler' than it does 

 like a master cry." 



Field marks. — The adult golden eagle is a large dark-colored bird, 

 appearing almost black in certain lights, with no white showing 

 anywhere. In favorable lights at short range the golden hackles on 

 the nape may show, but one must be very near to see the feathered 

 tarsi. In the immature bird the white base of the tail is conspicu- 

 ous, and also the white spaces in the wing formed by the white bases 

 of the secondaries and inner primaries. 



When the bird is soaring it holds the broad wings horizontally 

 and not at an upward angle, as does the turkey vulture. The wing 

 beats of the golden eagle are quicker and more vigorous than those 

 of the bald eagle. 



Winter. — The golden eagle is practically resident all the year 

 round throughout most of its range, though many of the more north- 



