Ii04 



of these predaceous birds. 1 liave repeatedly setni in 

 newspapers, acctHiuts of combats between men and 

 eagles; frequently tiie bird would be the aggressor. 

 While it is admitted that these reports are largely 

 due to the imaginative reporter, it is believed that such 

 occurrences do occasionally take ]ilace. Veritable in- 

 stances are related of their carrying dlV infants. Ac- 

 cording to Wilson : 



"An attempt of this kind was made upon a child lying by Its 

 mother, as she was weeding a garden, at Egg Harbor, New 

 Jersey, but thi.- sarment seized upon by the eagle .ttiving way at 

 the instant of the attempt, the child's life was spared." Nut- 

 tall speaks of an instance said to have happened at Peters- 

 burg, Georgia, near the Savannah river, "where an infant, 

 sleeping in the shade near the house, was seized and carried 

 off to the eyry, near the edge of the swamp, five miles dis- 

 tant, and when found, almost immediately, the child was 

 dead." 



DKSTHOYS POULTRY AND GAMK. 



This bird very often preys on birds and mammals. 

 I liave knowledge of al least two of these birds which 

 have killed [loiiliry (tanic diicks and liiikcys) ahnig the 

 Susquehanna lixcr. IMick InniU'is a.ssinnl iin' iliai 

 they have, on several occasions, seen Maid Kagles at- 

 tack and kill wild ducks and geese which are often 

 quite numerous during migrations on tlie !-5us(iuehanna 

 river. 



Sometimes, like the (Joldeu Eagle, this species will 

 attack i-accoons. and skunks; and on om- occasion I 

 found two or three spines of a porcui)ine in the body 

 of an inunature I'.ald Eagle which I secured in Clinton 

 county. This led me to infer that the Bald Eagle 

 might, sometimes, attack this animal which is so well 

 able to defend himself, and which seems to be of no use 

 in cur hemlock forests but to ruin hunting dogs, and 

 gnaw everything which is the least bit sally, that they 

 tiiid in Iheii- noetni-al rambliTigs about the lumber 



