it has induced the osprey to release 

 the fish, a swift dive often retrieves 

 the fish before it reaches the water. 



CANADA 



Althougli only two of the six bald 

 eagle stomachs collected in Canada 

 contained the remains of fish, a carp 

 and a salmonid, meager data from 

 the North give further evidence of 

 the importance of fish in the bald 

 eagle's fare. Taverner (1934) re- 

 ported on the examination of 15 

 stomachs of which 9 contained fish. 



Wild Birds 



The literature frequently records 

 incidents of predation of the bald 

 eagle on other birds and, although 

 identification may not have been 

 determined with unfailing accuracy 

 in all cases, the general character of 

 the birds eaten is apparent. Among 

 those so reported have been loons, 

 four species of grebes, young peli- 

 cans, cormorants, six species of her- 

 ons including the great blue, Can- 

 ada geese and black brant, seven 

 species of puddle ducks and six of 

 divers, wild turkeys and pheasants, 

 coots, sora and clapper rails, kill- 

 deer, three species of gulls and two 

 of terns and, lastly, the crow which 

 delights in pestering the bald eagle 

 at every opportunity. 



ALASKA 



Remains of birds were found in 

 71 of tlie 435 stomaclis of eagles col- 

 lected in Alaska, and, in volume, 

 comprised nearly 19 percent of the 

 annual food. Reference to table 2 

 shows that, on a volumetric basis, 

 birds are taken largely during the 



colder months, October through 

 April. Circumstances associated 

 with the collecting of the stomachs 

 indicate that much of this food is 

 taken as live prey, not carrion. 

 Nevertheless, it is conceivable that 

 decreased availability of fish in the 

 form of carrion during the winter 

 months had a bearing on the greater 

 consumption of birds at that time. 



Water birds, particularly ducks, 

 were dominant among the avian 

 food of eagles collected in South- 

 eastern Alaska. Twenty-nine rec- 

 ords were of waterfowl, including 

 7 species of ducks and the Canada 

 goose. The mallard (Alias platy- 

 rhynchos) with 7 records and the 

 surf scoter {Melanitta 'perspicil- 

 Jata) with 6 were the most frequent 

 items. The white-winged scoter 

 {M. fusca)^ a scaup {Aythya), 

 goldeneye [BucephaJa) ^ bufflehead 

 {B. alheola), and a green-winged 

 teal {Anas caroUnen^is) , also were 

 included. 



Remains of four horned grebes 

 ( Colytnhus auritus), one red-necked 

 grebe {Colyiiibiis grisegena)^ and 

 two loons, one of which was a red- 

 throated loon {Gavia stellata),) in 

 the stomachs examined testify to 

 the ability of the bald eagle to cap- 

 ture these persistent and capable 

 divers. In fact, the eagle which 

 had fed on the red-throated loon 

 was shot as it was feeding on the 

 freshly killed bird. Some of the 

 same marine species of waterfowl, 

 connnonly fed on by bald eagles in 

 the Aleutians (see p. 24) also were 

 taken b}' eagles in Southeastern 

 Alaska. The most vulnerable to 

 attack was the murre ( Uria adlge) , 

 of which 10 specimens were de- 



32 



