THE BALD-HEADED EAGLE. 



Dear Boys and Girls : 



I had hoped to show you 

 the picture of the eagle that 

 went through the war with the 

 soldiers. They called him " Old 

 Abe." You will find on page 

 35 a long story written about 

 him. Ask some one to read it 

 to you. 



I could net get " Old Abe," or 

 you should now be looking at 

 his picture. He is at present in 

 Wisconsin, and his owner would 

 not allow him to be taken from 

 home. 



I did the next best thing, and 

 found one that was very much 

 like him. They are as near 

 alike as two children of a 

 family. Old Abe's feathers are 

 not quite so smooth, though. Do 

 you wonder, after having been 

 through the war? He is a 

 veteran, isn't he ? 



The picture is that of a Bald- 

 headed Eagle. He is known, 

 also, by other names, such as 

 White-headed Eagle, Bird of 

 Washington, Sea Eagle. 



You can easily see by the 

 picture that he is not bald- 

 headed. The name White- 

 headed would seem a better 



name. It is because at a dis- 

 tance his head and neck appear 

 as though they were covered 

 with a white skin. 



He is called u Sea Eagle " 

 because his food is mostly fish. 

 He takes the fish that are thrown 

 upon the shores by the waves, 

 and sometimes he robs the Fish 

 Hawk of his food. 



This mighty bird usually 

 places his large nest in some 

 tall tree. He uses sticks three 

 to five feet long, large pieces of 

 sod, weeds, moss, and whatever 

 he can find. 



The nest is sometimes five or 

 six feet through. Eagles use the 

 same nest for years, adding to 

 it each year. 



Young eagles are queer look- 

 ing birds. When hatched, they 

 are covered with a soft down 

 that looks like cotton. 



Their parents feed them, and 

 do not allow them to leave the 

 nest until they are old enough 

 to fly. When they are old 

 enough, the mother bird pushes . 

 them out of the nest. She must 

 be sure that they can flj 7 , or she 

 would not dare do this. Don't 

 you think so? 



