JAN., 1909. BIRDS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 



473 



Golden Eagle. 



Male: Length, 30 to 36; wing, 22.50 to 25; tail, 14.50; tarsus, 

 3.60 to 3.75. 



Female: Length, 35 to 39; wing, 24 to 26.50; tail, 15; tarsus, 

 4.05 to 4.25. 



The Golden Eagle was formerly not uncommon in winter in Illi- 

 nois and Wisconsin, but is now rare. 



Mr. Isaac E. Hess informs me he has a Golden Eagle in his collec- 

 tion taken near Philo, Champaign Co., Illinois, May 13, 1899; ha also 

 states that two others have been taken in that vicinity during the 

 last seven years. Mr. E. W. Nelson writes (Birds N. E. Illinois, 1876- 

 p. 120): " Not very uncommon during winter. Arrives in November 

 and departs early in spring. Formerly nested throughout the state." 



I can find no record of the eggs having been actually taken in 

 Illinois and only one for Wisconsin, that of Dr. Hoy, (Trans. Wis- 

 consin Agricultural Society, Vol. I, 1852) who describes the nesting 

 of a pair in a large oak tree near Racine, in 1851. 



The nest is a very large structure, sometimes in the top of a tall 



