238 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



height and was made of huge branches, sticks and similar 

 material. The distance of the nest from the ground, deter- 

 mined the same way, appeared to be ninety feet. The nest 

 seemed to be fully six feet across the top. 



At the time of my visit in June there were young birds in 

 it, and judging by the partially decayed fish on the ground 

 they were bountifully supplied with the same by their parents. 



I well remember my first view of the female Pushaw Eagle. 

 It was a pleasant day and as we paddled up Pushaw Stream 

 the sun shone full in our faces at the precise moment when, as 

 we neared the pond, a crashing sound was heard in the trees 

 and right square "in the sun" there appeared a bird which to 

 our excited imagination appeared the whitest of white on its 

 head, neck and tail while the rest of its plumage seemed the 

 very blackest of black. As it passed on and swung so that 

 the sun no longer bothered us we realized what we had the 

 privilege of beholding. I have seen that same bird many a 

 time since and it has always seemed to me that it really was 

 whiter on the white parts and darker elsewhere than any other 

 Eagles I have seen, nor do I think this is a lingering of the 

 first impression, but to go back again to my first view of the 

 bird. 



As it flew away we continued up the stream and as we 

 entered the pond there flew from the shore another smaller 

 Eagle, its mate. We landed at the place whence it came and 

 found stranded thereabouts hundreds of perch, sunfish and 

 horned pout which had evidently been killed by some epidemic 

 peculiar to fishes and washed up on the shore. We found 

 where the bird had been feeding on some of these semi-decayed 

 fish from which arose a fearful stench like unto the oft used 

 phrase of the "searing breath" or the "breath that scorched". 



Since then I have seen these birds often at various times 

 feeding on similar material or occasionally engaged in "harry- 

 ing" a pair of Ospreys and robbing them of their fish. As 

 the Osprey arose from the water with a fish in its talons one 



