BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 265 



The white plumage o£ the head, from which this eagle de- 

 rives its name, is not fully developed till the fourth, and some- 

 times not till the fifth or sixth year of its age. This is the 

 case when the bird is in confinement ; perhaps when at liberty, 

 it may attain its full beauty at an earlier age. In other res- 

 pects, this eagle is mature within a year from the time of its 

 birth. 



The Fish-hawk, Falco halicetus, which is so often a victim 

 to the rapacity of the eagle just described, is an interesting and 

 harmless bird, which confines itself industriously to its em- 

 ployment of fishing, never attacking other birds nor land ani- 

 mals, though it has great strength of flight and of talons, and 

 though it sometimes arrives in the spring when the bays and 

 ponds are frozen and its food is diflicult to be procured. It has 

 no controversy with any bird except the eagle, and that war- 

 fare must be regarded as defensive ; no single hawk is able to 

 encounter the enemy, but by joining their forces, they become 

 too strong to be resisted. 



The fish-hawk is on excellent terms with the fishermen, 

 though they are of the same trade. Its coming announces the 

 arrival of the shoals of fish that crowd our rivers in the spring. 

 Perhaps its exemption from persecution may be owing also to 

 its well known gentleness of disposition. Unlike other birds 

 of prey, the fish-hawks are social and friendly to each other. 

 They come to us in flocks of eight or ten, who build near each 

 other, and rear their young in perfect harmony, and this spirit 

 of hospitality and kindness is extended to other birds that seem 

 to have no claim upon them. The crow blackbirds are per- 

 mitted to shelter in the interstices of their nests, which are 

 huge constractions, made of a cartload of heavy materials firmly 

 matted together. The notion that the fish-hawk protects the 

 domestic poultry from other hawks is without foundation, since 

 it never interferes with the pursuits of any bird whatever. It 

 is well however, that the impression should exist, for if not 

 well founded, it serves the cause of humanity and saves the 

 fish-hawk from destruction. 



34 



