" LIONS OF THE AIR." 189 



City folk may, perhaps, see the king of the air as a 

 captive in the zoological garden. It is fondly hoped 

 that every reader carries in his pocket, at least occa- 

 sionally, a feeble portrait of him impressed on one side 

 of the American silver dollar. 



They are great flyers. The condor of South Amer- 

 ica soars to the height of twenty thousand feet above 

 the level of the sea. These creatures have a wonder- 

 ful power of sight. Vultures and turkey buzzards 

 find the dead bodies on which they feed, not by scent, 

 but by sight. The fish-hawk, at a height of over a 

 hundred feet in the air, can see a minnow under the 

 water. The owl at night can discern a bat as quickly 

 as a cat spies a mouse in the dark. 



Of eagles there are two prominent kinds in this 

 country. The golden eagle lives in mountainous dis- 

 tricts. The bald eagle, or "bird of Washington," 

 shows itself occasionally in nearly all parts of the 

 country. It is not really bald, but when three years 

 old has its head covered with white feathers. The 

 bald eagle is a grand, princely bird in appearance, and 

 for this reason was chosen as our nation's emblem. 

 The great and good Benjamin Franklin objected to its 

 selection for that purpose, and preferred the turkey. 



The lion of the African desert is not better armed 

 for his lordly cruelty than are these lions of the air. 

 What beaks they have ! Strong, short, sharp-edged, 

 and hooked. What fearful claws! These are the first 

 birds we find that use the claw as a hand. The living 

 prey the mouse, the chick or the child is caught and 

 held by the claws, and is borne away. The claws of 

 the Alpine eagle are not fitted for this work. 



