EAGLE 



1897 



EAGLE 



EAGLE, e'g'l, a general name for several 

 species of birds of prey, widely distributed in 

 both the eastern and western hemispheres. In 

 the popular mind the name is associated with 

 a bird of superb strength, keenness of sight 



He clasps the crag with hooked hands ; 

 Close to the sun in lonely lands, 

 Ring'd with the azure world, he stands. 



TENNYSON : The Eagle. 



and marvelous powers of flight. This is the 

 "bird of the broad and sweeping wing," as Perci- 

 val describes it in his poem To the Eagle 

 a bird typical of strength and courage, which 

 majestically soars higher than any other crea- 

 ture of the air and nests on mountain crags. 



As a matter of fact, the different species of 

 this group of birds vary considerably in size, 

 appearance and characteristics, and not all of 

 these deserve the halo of romance and poetry 

 that has become so popularly associated with 

 the name eagle. In general these birds possess 

 a great powerful bill, with its upper part, or 

 mandible, curved sharply down over the lower, 

 toes with strong grasping power, and sharp, 

 curved claws, or talons, used for seizing their 

 prey. In most species the legs are feathered 

 to the toes. 



The Golden Eagle, a species common 

 throughout mountainous and unsettled regions 

 of North America, Europe, Asia and Northern 

 Africa. It measures about seven feet from 



tip to tip of the expanded wings, and over 

 three feet from beak to the end of the tail. Its 

 body plumage is dusky brown, but the back of 

 the head and the nape are pale yellow, whence 

 its name, and the basal half of each tail feather 

 and the feathers on the legs are white. Its 

 favorite nesting place is a mountain tree or 

 rocky cliff; the nests, some of which are fully 

 five feet in diameter, contain two to three dull 

 white eggs, which are often speckled or 

 blotched with brown. This bird is a robber of 

 lambs from the sheepfold, but is unjustly ac- 

 cused of carrying away young children to its 

 distant eyrie. Called by some the mountain 

 eagle, it is best known in Western North 

 America as the war eagle, because its tail 

 feathers are the favorite plumage for the In- 

 dians' war bonnets. These birds "grow gray 

 with age," and may live a century. 



The Bald Eagle, also known as the Washing- 

 ton, or American, eagle, is the one which has 

 been chosen as the national emblem of the 

 United States. The figure of this eagle is 

 found on gold coins issued by the govern- 

 ment. Its name has reference to the white 

 head and neck of the mature bird. The year- 

 old bird is dark brown ; during the second year 

 its plumage turns gray, and in the third year 

 it becomes dusky brown, with head, neck and 

 tail white, bill and feet yellow and the lower 

 part of the legs bare of feathers. This eagle 

 is particularly fond of fish and often robs the 

 fishing osprey of its lawful prey. It feeds, too, 

 on any small animals it can capture. Its habi- 

 tat is the temperate regions of North America, 

 and its favorite nesting place a tall tree near 

 the water, though sometimes it nests on the 

 rocky ledge of a high cliff. The eyrie is four 

 or five feet in width, and is often as high as it 

 is wide. The bald eagle lays two or three 

 dull white eggs, somewhat like those of the 

 golden eagle, but unblotched. 



Other Species. Among other species in dif- 

 ferent parts of the world are the powerful 

 buzzard eagles, the Guiana eaglet of South 

 America, and the huge harpy eaglet of Brazil- 

 ian forests. See HARPY; LAMMERGQER. Com- 

 pare, also, CONDOR. E.T.S. 



Eagle (As A STANDARD). Among the early 

 Romans a gold figure of an eagle, symbol of 

 strength and prowess, was placed on the tip end 

 of a spear and curried as a standard at the 

 head of a legion. Figures of animals were 

 used, too, but in 104 B. c. the eagle became 

 their chief emblem. Next to the lion, it be- 

 came after the thirteenth century the favorite 



