HALIAETUS LEVCOCEPHALUS. 



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HALIAETUS LE0COCEPHALUS. 



White-headed Eagle. 



Haliaetus Ivucoceyhalus Savig. — Cut., R. A. 2d. ed.: 1839, 326. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. Cn. Form, very robust. Size large. Sternum, stout, with the top of the keel rounded. Tongue, long, ge«;hv 

 gmoved for it-; entire length, horny at tip, where it Ls rounded but not hitid. Bill, strong and well-ourved. Tarsus feath- 

 ered in front for balf ite length. Seses, similar in color. 



Color. Adult. Head, and neck all around, tail, with its upper and lower coverts, white. Remaining pluman-e 

 very dark-brown, with the feathers more or less edged with whitish. Bill, cere, feet, and iris, yellow. 



Youny. Lacks the white head and tail and the feathers above are edged with yellowish-rufous and whitish. The 

 tail and under surface are streaked with white. 



youny of the year. Very dark-brown everywhere, with the feathers on the top of the head very narrowly edged with 

 rusty or rufous. 



Nestlinys. Are at first covered with a whitish down which becomes darker as the birds grow older, then they gradu- 

 ally assume the plumage last described. In the last three stages, the iris and bill are brown, the feet are yellow, and the 

 cere is greenish. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Specimens of the same age and sex exhibit but little variation in plumage. Readily known when adult by the white 

 head and tail, and in all stages by the jiartly feathered tarsus. Florida birds are smaller than those from further north. 

 Distributed as a constant resident throughout North America. 



DBIENSIONS 



Average mea.sureuients of female specimens from EasternNorth America. Length, 37'00; stretch, 82-70; wins, S'I'OO; 

 tail, 12 Sf); hill, 2-15; tai-sus, 3'40. Longest specimen, 40-25; greatest extent of wing, 85-00; longest wing, 25-00; tail, M 00; 

 bill,2-6'J: tai-sus, 3 80. Shortest specimen, 31-00: smallest extent of wing, 79-00; shortest wing, 23-00; tail, 11 33; hill, l-'JO; 

 tarsus, 3-00. 



Average measurements of male specimens from Eastern North America. Length, 32-00; stretch, 76-00; wing. 21-40; 

 tail, 11 85; hill, 225; tarsus, 3-12. Longest specimen, 3l(i0; greatest extent of wing, 80-25; longest wins, 2283; tail, 12-00: 

 bill, 2-50; tarsus, 330. Shortest specimen, 30M)0; smallest extent of wing, 72-00; shortest wing, 20-00; tail, 11-60; bill, 1-75; 

 tarsus, 2-90. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Ncstx, u-iually placed in trees or occasionally on rocky clifis; they are very bulky structures, composed of sticks, ar- 

 rang d in a compact manner. ^ 



Eyys, usually two in number, varying from spherical to oval in form, ashy or dirty-white in color, un-spotted. Dimen- 

 sions from 2-75x300 to 2-82x2-85. 



HABITS. 



Although the White-headed Eagles constantly occur in the wilder portions of New 

 England, they are rare in the vicinity of Boston; thus I do not remember of having seen 

 more than three or four, within the past fifteen years, at Newton, and the last one that I 

 observed was a fine adult which flew slowly by a few days ago, early in February, 1880. 

 I have little doubt but that these fine birds breed even in Massachusetts but such instances 

 are very rare tind in order to study this species to perfection, one must visit Florida, where 

 there are more nests in a given area than in any other section, and I have several times 

 found three or four eyries, all occupied, within the radius of a mile. 



These birds begin to breed in Florida very early in January, and the nest is usually 

 placed in a huge pine, many feet from the ground. The first nest that I found was at 

 Lake Harney, during my earliest visit to the state and as I was desirous of seeing what it 

 contained, 1 determined to cut down the tree, for all my efforts to climb the huge bole, 



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