THE BALD EAGLE 



and its economic status 



Attaclied to the bald eagle is a 

 degree of popular interest far be- 

 yond that normally associated with 

 our birds of prey. Early in the 

 Nation's history the bald eagle, of 

 all the varied forms of wildlife in 

 North America, was selected as our 

 national emblem. By act of the 

 Congress, June 20, 1782, a design 

 for the national coat-of-arms dis- 

 playing the bald eagle was adopted. 

 As narrated by Dr. Francis H. Her- 

 rick (1924a, p. 90) : 



The principal figure in the obverse was 

 thus described in the report of William 

 Barton and Charles Thomson, Secretary 

 of Congress. "The Escutcheon placed on 

 the Breast of an American (the bald- 

 headed) Eagle, displayed proper, holding 

 in his Beak a Scroll, inscribed with the 

 Motto, viz., 'E pluribus Unum' — and in 

 his dexter Talon a Palm or an Olive 

 Branch — in the other a Bundle of 13 

 Arrows ; all proper." 



Despite the esteem in which 

 many have held the bald eagle 

 through the years, some have seen 

 it in a less complimentary light. 

 This impression goes back, in at 

 least one notable instance, to one of 

 the founders of the Republic, Ben- 

 jamin Franklin. Gaillard Hunt 

 (1909, p. 65) in his History of the 

 Seal of the United States, quoted 

 Franklin as having written : 



For my part, I wish the bald eagle had 

 not been chosen as the representative of 

 our country ; he is a bird of bad moral 

 character ; he does not get his living hon- 

 estly ; you may have seen him perched 

 on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish 

 for himself, he watches the labor of the 

 fishing-hawk ; and, when that diligent 

 bird has at length taken a fish, and is 

 bearing it to his nest for the support of 

 his mate and young ones, the bald eagle 

 pursues him, and takes it from him. 

 With all this injustice he is never in 

 good case ; but, like those among men 

 who live by sharping and robbing, he is 

 generally poor, and often very lousy. Be- 

 sides, he is a rank coward ; the little king- 

 bird, not bigger than a sparrow, attacks 

 him boldly, and drives him out of the 

 district. 



No attempt is made here to judge 

 the merits of the selection of the 

 bald eagle as the emblem of this 

 country, nor to appraise the ethics 

 or the bravery of the bird. Instead, 

 information has been assembled 

 from reliable sources and from the 

 examination of a series of bald 

 eagle stomachs and crops, and food 

 remains at nests, to permit a cur- 

 rent appraisal of the economics of 

 the bird both within the borders of 

 the United States and in the Terri- 

 tory of Alaska. A brief summary 

 is made of data on its distribution, 

 abundance, migration, and general 

 life history. 



