190 Birds: 



the torrent, and precipitated down those tremendous 



falls : 



" High o'er the watery uproar silent seen, 

 Sailing sedate in majesty serene, 

 Now 'midst the pillar 'd spray sublimely lost, 

 And now emerging, down the rapids toss'd, 

 Glides the Bald Eagle, gazing calm and slow 

 O'er all the horrors of the scene below ; 

 Intent alone to sate himself with blood, 

 From the torn victim of the raging flood." 



The number of birds of prey of various kinds, which 

 assemble at the foot of the rocks to glut themselves upon 

 the banquet thus provided for them, is said to be incredi- 

 bly great, but they are all compelled to give place to the 

 Eagle when he deigns to feed on dead animals ; and the 

 crow and the vulture submit without a struggle to the 

 exercise of that tyranny, which they know it would be 

 in vain to resist. " We have ourselves," says Wilson, 

 " seen the Bald Eagle, while seated on the dead carcase 

 of a horse, keep a whole flock of vultures at a respectful 

 distance, until he had fully sated his own appetite : " 

 and he adds another instance, in which many thousands 

 of tree squirrels having been drowned, in one of their 

 migrations, in attempting to pass the Ohio, and having 

 furnished for some length of time a rich banquet to the 

 vultures, the sudden appearance among them of the 

 Bald Eagle at once put a stop to their festivities, and 

 drove them to a distance from their prey, of which the 

 Eagle kept sole possession for several successive days. 



These Eagles sometimes hunt in pairs in a manner 

 which shows their great sagacity. Aware that water-fowl 

 have the power of eluding their grasp by diving, they 

 hover at a distance from each other over their prey. One 

 of them then darts towards it with great swiftness, but 

 the water-fowl easily avoids the first attack by diving. 

 The pursuer then rises into the air, and his mate resumes 

 the attack just as the fowl is emerging to breathe, and 

 compels it to plunge again. The Eagles continue alter- 

 nately to proceed in this manner till their victim is so 

 exhausted that it falls an easy prey. 



This Eagle also frequently attacks the Osprey or 

 Fish Hawk, when he is returning from a successful 



