Bald Eagle. 271 



It is not generally known, except to naturalists, that 

 there are only two species of eagle which belong to the 

 avi-fauna of North America, with the exception of the 

 gray sea eagle of Europe, occasionally resident on the 

 southern coast of Greenland. Our two species are the 

 bald or white-headed eagle and the golden eagle. In their 

 mature plumage the two species need not be confounded, 

 but in the immature plumage of the first two or three 

 years there is a degree of resemblance between them. 

 The golden eagle, however, has the tarsi feathered all 

 round down to the toes, while the bald eagle has the tarsi 

 feathered only in front and on the sides, and not more 

 than half way down to the toes; and this difference serves 

 as a sure means of identification. The common name 

 of bald eagle admits of misconstruction, as the reader 

 might imagine the unfeathered condition of the head 

 found in the vultures. The term white-headed eagle is 

 more consonant with the truth, for in mature plumage 

 the head and neck are pure white, as is the tail. Individ- 

 uals in their second year have a grayish phase, and are 

 popularly styled gray eagles, but it should be remembered 

 that they are bald eagles in immature dress. The young 

 of the first year are quite dark, and are popularly known 

 as black eagles in some localities, though the golden eagle 

 also is called black eagle by undiscriminating persons, 

 and hence this title is confusing. 



To the wide distribution of the white-headed eagle are 

 doubtless due the seemingly contradictory accounts of its 

 habits, as environment has a noticeable effect in modifying 

 the habits of animals, especially when successive genera- 

 tionsof the same family breed in the same locality. The bald 

 eagle is equally at home on the banks of the Arctic rivers 

 and the rivers of the Gulf, and it thrives as well on the 

 barren cliffs of Labrador as the sunny shores of Florida 

 and Texas. It is seen oftenest along the seashore, and 

 along the great lakes, as well as near the larger rivers 

 and water-courses. Near the waters of the bottom lakes 

 of this section the bald eagle can frequently be seen sitting 

 or flying, doubtless allured thither in part by the quanti- 

 ties of dead fish annually left by the destructive freshets. 

 At that season the swamp-lakes harbor flocks of migrat- 



