2757 



EAGLE 



All are exclusively carnivorous, 

 and most of them eat carrion. They 

 are found throughout Europe, 

 Africa, Asia, and North America. 



The most familiar member of the 

 genus Aquila is the golden eagle 

 (A. chrysaetus), which is not un- 

 common in Scotland and in the 

 wilder parts of Ireland. The golden 

 eagles seen in England have always 

 turned out to be white-tailed 

 species. The bird is about a yard 

 in length, with dark brown plumage 

 showing a tawny tinge at the neck. 

 It lives mainly on hares, rabbits, and 

 game birds, and will occasionally 

 attack a lamb or young fawn. Its 

 nest, made of sticks and often of a 

 huge size, is usually built on a ledge 

 of an inaccessible cliff. The white- 

 tailed sea eagle (Halietus albicilla) 

 is found in the Hebrides. The 

 spotted eagle (A. maculata) is a rare 

 winter visitant. See illus. p. 990. 



Eagle. Symbol in heraldry. It 

 was employed by several nations 

 before the beginning of heraldic 

 science, notably by the Hittites, 

 Persians, and Egyptians. In 

 heraldry it is almost universally 

 displayed full front, with expanded 

 wings, but is shown in a great 

 variety of positions, as close (wing 

 closed), rising (wings elevated or 

 displayed ), volant or flying, truss- 

 ing or preying (devouring quarry), 

 and double-headed, in which form 

 it was adopted by the Russian and 

 Austrian empires. 



From a Roman standard-symbol 

 it became the emblem of the rulers 

 of the Eastern Empire, from whom 

 Charlemagne adopted it after hi& 

 coronation at Rome in A.D. 800, 

 thus making it the badge of the 

 medieval empire. From this early 

 form was' evolved the later Ger- 

 man imperial eagle, which, origin- 

 ally one-headed, is represented on 

 the coins of the emperor Louis the 

 Bavarian as double-headed, to 

 typify the union of the royal and 

 imperial dignities. This continued 



Eagle. The bird as displayed on military standards. 1. Of the armies of Ancient 

 Rome. 2. Of those of Napoleon I and Napoleon HI 



to be the basis of the arms of the 

 Holy Roman Empire till its close in 

 1806. The Austrian Empire pre- 

 served the double-headed eagle. 

 The Russian tsars assumed the 

 double-headed form in 1472 under 

 Ivan III. to signify their succession 

 from the Greek emperors. The 

 modern German Empire adopted 

 the single- headed eagle on its 

 formation in 1871. 



The origin of the assumption of 

 the eagle as a national emblem by 

 the United States of America is ob- 

 scure, but there is good reason to 

 believe that it was adopted from 

 Indian usage. Its images, carved 

 in wood, or its stuffed skin, sur- 

 mounted the council lodges of the 

 Creek Indians, its feathers com- 

 posed their war flag; and it was 

 worshipped by the Natchez, Alan- 

 zas, and other tribes. The American 

 eagle carries in its talons a bundle 

 of arrows and an olive branch, 

 bears on the breast a shield crossed 

 by six red vertical bars, and from 

 its beak issues a band with the 

 motto E plunbus unum. The eagle 

 was adopted by the Mexican Re- 

 public because of an Aztec legend 

 that when the site of Mexico City 



Representations of this bird on the flags and standards of various 

 nations. 1. Taken from an Egyptian coin of the time of the Ptolemies. 2. 

 Ancient Rome 3. Holy Roman Empire. 4. Austria 5 German Empire. 

 6. Russian Empire. 1. U.S.A. 8. Mexico. 



was discovered an eagle with a ser- 

 pent in its talons was seen perching 

 on a cactus plant. The alerion is an 

 heraldic form of the eagle, without 

 beak or legs". 



Eagle. Name given to military 

 standards employed in ancient 

 Rome and in France under Napo- 

 leon I and Napoleon III. In Rome 

 the eagle was traditionally believed 

 to have brought the symbols of 

 earthly power to King Tarquinius 

 Priscus, and was first adopted as a 

 military emblem in the second con- 

 sulship of Marius (104 B.C.). when 

 the older tribal standards were laid 

 aside and the eagle, as the bird of 

 Jupiter, was alone retained. It was 

 at first made of wood, but later was 

 cast in silver and bronze, with ex- 

 panded wings, the model being of 

 no very great size. Under the later 

 emperors it was carried by the 

 various legions, which were some- 

 times spoken of as eagles. Under 

 the eagle the head of the reigning 

 emperor was frequently shown. 



The Napoleonic eagle, which was 

 served out to regiments and vessels 

 of war, was represented as gilded 

 and crowned and perched on a 

 thunderbolt. It was first issued on 

 Dec. 3, 1804, the day after Napo- 

 leon's coronation, and the officers 

 who received it took oath to " sacri- 

 fice their lives in defence " of the 

 standard. Twelve Napoleonic 

 eagles are preserved at the Chelsea 

 Hospital, London, but the only 

 naval eagle known is in the 

 museum at Madrid. On the restora- 

 tion of the Bourbons, the eagles in 

 use were destroyed, but when Na- 

 poleon returned from Elba new 

 eagles were issued. After Waterloo 

 another destruction of eagles was 

 ordered, and only one of those 

 which had not been captured by 

 the British that of the Old Guard 

 was saved, remaining in posses- 

 sion of the officer who secreted it. 

 The older Napoleonic eagles bore 

 only the number of the regiment, 



