152 ZOOLOGY. 



This eagle is a constant resident, and, I believe, lays its eggs as early as February, though I 

 never examined a nest at that season. I never saw it dive for fish or pursue unwounded birds, 

 but have seen it settle for a moment on the water to secure a dead fish, closing its wings. 

 It is a great pest to the sportsman, being always on the lookout for wounded birds, which it 

 seizes almost from his grasp. It will sometimes sit for hours on the beach among gulls, crows, 

 and ravens, which are quite unconcerned at its presence. 



The young of this species seems to prefer the sea-coast, and is generally supposed to be 

 another species by the name of &quot;gray eagle.&quot; It seems to differ in the greater breadth of the 

 wings and tail, which, however, depends on the form of the feathers only. The coloring is 

 very variable, not only the head and tail, but the back and breast being mottled, and sometimes 

 entirely white. These varieties might easily be mistaken for species before the regular change 

 of plumage was fully demonstrated. During the journey northward to the 49th degree I saw 

 numbers of eagles along the Columbia, commonly sitting on some log or cliff over the water. 

 In Santa Clara county, California, I saw a nest of this bird large enough to fill a wagon. It 

 was built in a large sycamore tree, standing alone in the prairie, and but a short distance from 

 several farm houses. On my shooting a magpie from the tree, one of the eagles came from a 

 distance and flew round to reconnoitre, though, as it was November, they probably had no 

 eggs or young in it. The farmers not having molested it, I suppose the eagles were not trouble 

 some, and probably found enough to eat among the great numbers of cattle dying on those 

 plains. 



I have never seen this eagle about the high mountain tops, and on the plains east of the 

 Rocky mountains it is a rare visitor. 0. 



This noble looking bird is exceedingly abundant in Oregon and &quot;Washington Territories, and 

 in certain localities, especially during the salmon season, may be found in great numbers. De 

 Smet, in his work on &quot;Oregon Missions,&quot; speaks of their abundance about the shores of several 

 of the large lakes on the upper Columbia, where they find, during certain months of the year, 

 an easy subsistence, owing to the vast numbers of dead and dying salmon which line the water 

 margin. While crossing the continent with Governor Stevens s party in 1853 I succeeded in 

 obtaining a pair of young birds alive, from an eyrie built in a tree on the borders of Lake Jessie, 

 Minnesota. They were forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution, and deposited in the collec 

 tion of living creatures kept for the amusement of the patients at the lunatic asylum near 

 Washington city. On my canoe voyage from the Rocky mountains to Fort Vancouver I fre 

 quently passed these birds, at times sitting alone, or in pairs, in the trees over the river banks, 

 or perched on the high cliffs overhanging the wild streams of the mountains. They appeared 

 quite tame, and frequently permitted an approach within easy rifle shot. Sometimes one or 

 two might be seen in company with a few little impudent looking crows, dividing the remains 

 of a dead and putrid salmon which had been washed up on the shores of the Columbia. These 

 dead salmon appear to afford the principal nourishment to the eagles, crows, and coyotes of that 

 region. 



Mr. Geo. Gibbs says that he has seen the present bird alight in deep water, and rest upon 

 it like a gull. 



The measurements of the Oregon specimens seem to be greater than those of the Atlantic. 

 I think that this bird, in Oregon, does not depend much on the prey captured from the osprey, 

 as the latter bird is not at all abundant there, but rather, as above stated, on the dead bodies 

 of fish which are cast up on the shores of the coast, bays, and rivers, becoming thus vulture- 



