Our conclusions relative to the 

 feedino; of the bald ea^rle on other 

 birds are essentially the same as 

 those advanced by ]\Iurie. who 

 stated that— 



birds are the chief food, and this won hi 

 be exi)ected in view of their supremacy 

 in the fauna of tlie Ah'Utiiin Islands. It 

 is signilicaiit also that tlic eaules prey 

 extensively on so-called sea birds, which 

 are the most plentiful there * * *. 



On a percentage basis, those birds 

 most freciuently captured, as re- 

 vealed by a combintition of the '■I 

 years' data, were fulmars, crested 

 auklets. nuirres, o-Uiucous-wino-ed 

 oulls, tufted puffins, cormorants, 

 and shearwaters. In the aggregate, 

 birds of all kinds comprised more 

 than four-fifths of the food of the 

 bald eagle in the Aleutian Islands. 



UNITED STATES 



Bird remains, all waterfowl, were 

 found in 6 of the ol stomachs of 

 bald eagles collected in the United 

 States in earlier days. All were 

 taken during winter and early 

 spring and in one case a lead shot 

 surrounded by a mass of duck 

 feathers indicated that that indi- 

 vidual probably was a cripple or 

 dead bird when picked up by the 

 eagle. 



The attack of bald eagles on 

 waterfowl usually is a dramatic 

 episode most frequently observed 

 during winter when the waterfowl 

 are congregated and the eagles are 

 pressed for food. Although not 

 usually considered to j)Ossess great 

 speed in ilight, when in pursuit of 

 waterfowl the bald eagle can ma- 

 neuver with the speed and dexterity 



of a falcon. William Brewster 

 (Bent 19;3T) in earlier days wit- 

 nessed attacks on geese and brant 

 along the Virginia coast : 



When close npon its (piari'y the Eagle 

 sudderdy sweeps lieneath it. and. turning 

 hack downward, thrusts its powerful 

 talons into its breast. A Brant or Duck 

 is carried off bodily to the nearest marsh 

 or sand-bar. but a Canada Goose is too 

 heavy to be thus easily disposed of. The 

 two great birds fall together to the water 

 beneath, where the Eagle literally tows 

 his prize along the surface until the 

 shore is reached. In this way one has 

 been known to drag a large Goose for 

 nearly half a mile. 



An incident that occurred on the 

 Tule Lake National Wildlife Ref- 

 uge in northern California reveals 

 that, on occasion, the bald eagle 

 may attack and kill pheasants. In 

 April r.):jl), two ring-necked pheas- 

 ants attempted to cross an opening 

 between clumps of tules. Sud- 

 deidy a btild eagle swooped out of 

 the skies and struck one of the birds 

 with such force that, although the 

 eagle was driven ott", the pheasant 

 died after a bi ief struggle. 



In earlier days, when both eagles 

 ;ind wild turkeys were more abun- 

 dant, predation on the latter was 

 occasionally observed. Examina- 

 tion of food debris associated with 

 a bald eagle's nest at (Jadsen Point, 

 I lillsborotigh County. Fla., in lt)13, 

 revealed the bones and feathers of 

 a wild turkey. 



Although robbing the osprey of 

 its legitimate lish has fre((ueiUly 

 been recorded, larceny by the bald 

 eagle of other birds' food is sel(h)ni 

 noted. Such an event, however, 

 was observed on tiie Cap(» Ivomain 



34 



