84 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



sycamore. These Eagles were successful 

 hunters. We never saw the time when their 

 larder was empty. The food of the young 

 Eagles consisted almost entirely of ground 

 squirrels. The first visit I made to the aerie after 

 the Eaglets were hatched, I found the bodies of 

 four ground squirrels lying on the rim of the 

 nest. For miles along the lower hills, the ground 

 was perforated with the burrows of these rodents. 

 On rocky lookouts above, the Eagles had their 

 regular watch-towers where they kept vigil. 



The Golden Eagle cradled her eggs in the big 

 sycamore the first week in March. The period 

 of incubation lasted a month, for the eggs hatched 

 on April 3d. At first the Eaglets were covered 

 with soft, white down, rather poor garments for 

 a hunter, but this coat lasted a full month. Dur- 

 ing this time, the youngsters grew from the egg 

 till they weighed as much as a good-sized hen. 

 Then black pinfeathers began to prick up through 

 the down, first appearing on the wings and back. 

 It was not till the first week in June that the 

 Eaglets were fairly well clothed. The wings and 

 feet were still very weak. The wing-feathers 

 were slow in gaining the strength that was neces- 

 sary to handle such heavy bodies. It required 

 the continuad efiforts of both parents to hunt food 



for such ravenous children. It took many days 

 of practicing on the nest edge by flapping their 

 wings and much parental persuasion before the 

 young Eagles sailed out from the castle in the 

 sycamore. William L. Finley. 



The food of the Golden Eagle consists of 

 fawns, rabbits, woodchucks, prairie dogs, and 

 ground squirrels among mammals, and Turkeys, 

 Grouse, and waterfowl among birds. At times it 

 attacks also the young of domesticated animals, 

 notably lambs, pigs, goats, and poultry. It has 

 been known to attack calves and colts, but such 

 instances must be exceptional and when the birds 

 are hard pressed by hunger. 



Over extensive areas of the West the Golden 

 Eagle unites with other birds of prey to keep 

 many species of noxious rodents in check, and 

 must be considered beneficial. In the more 

 thickly inhabited regions, however, where such 

 food is scarce, they often do great damage by 

 carrying oiif lambs, young pigs, kids, and poultry. 

 As many as four hundred lambs are reported to 

 have been taken from contiguous ranges in one 

 season. It thus will be seen that in one region 

 the bird should be protected and in another 

 kept in check. 



FALCONS 



Order Raptorcs; suborder Falcoiies; family Falcon idcr; subfamily Falconina 



HE Falcons are in some respects the most remarkable, as they certainly are 

 the most famous, of the birds of prey. Their savage and predacious disposition, 

 swiftness of flight, and extraordinary keenness of vision suggested centuries 

 ago their employment in the pursuit of other birds and small mammals, and 

 thus arose the ancient sport of falconry, which is still followed to some extent 

 in the Orient, though its obvious cruelty finally caused its abandonment in 

 western Europe. In days when hawking was at its height in England, the 

 rank of the individual could be told by the particular species of Falcon which 

 he carried on his wrist : the Gyrfalcon was carried by royalty, the Peregrine 

 Falcon was carried by an earl, the Goshawk by a yeoman, the Sparrow Hawk 

 by a priest, and the Kestrel by a servant. 

 The true Falcons have the bill sharply hooked, toothed, and notched. The projecting 

 bony eye-shield gives the bird a peculiarly stern and domineering expression. The legs 

 are muscular; the talons curved, strong, and ver>' sharp; the wings, long, strong, and 

 pointed; the tail, rigid and comparatively short; the general build, powerful. The flight 

 of all the species is remarkably swift, and the birds' movements on the wing are very quick 

 and certain. Without apparent efTort they overtake and kill in flight the swiftest flying 

 Ducks, as well as Pigeons and Grouse. Their courage is great and they do not hesitate 

 to attack birds much larger and stronger than themselves. Birds pursued by Falcons seem 

 to realize that their only chance for escape is to keep above the enemy, and it often happens, 

 therefore, that both birds may fly so high as to disappear entirely. Eventually, however, 



