and 0[)en ; tarsus clothed with feathers or scaly ; 

 the toes, three before and one beliiiid — the exteri- 

 or toe commonly united to the adjacent one by a 

 membrane ; nails sharp, strongly hooked, mova- 

 ble and retractile ; tail feathers, twelve. 



This Genus embraces the Eagles, Falcons, 

 Hawks, Kites and Buzzards, and is divided by 

 tnodern Ornithologists into no less than ten gen- 

 era; but we deem it unnecessary to give the dis- 

 tinctive characters of these genera in this work. 



THE BALD EAGLE. 



Falco leucocephalus. — LinnjEUS. 



Description. — Color of the body and 

 wings deep lively brown or chocolate ; 

 head, upper part of the neck, tail and tail 

 coverts clear white ; bill, cere and feet 

 yellow, with the soles of the feet rough 

 and warty, iris light 3fellow. Length of 

 the female 3 feet, spread of the wings 7 

 feet; male 2 or 3 inches shorter. The 

 white of the head and tail is not clear till 

 the third year, being previously blended 

 with grayish brown. 



History. — Tlie Bald Eagle is found in 

 the northern parts of both continents, but 

 is much more coinmou on the western 

 than on the eastern continent. It is 

 found in all parts of the United States, 

 and is frequently seen in Vermont, but is 

 not known to breed within the state. 

 This Eagle is the adopted emblem of our 

 country, but we sliould hesitate to ac- 

 knowledge him to be the true representa- 

 tive of our national cliaracter. He has 

 the reputation of being a free-booter, liv- 

 ing by robbing the fish hawk of Jiis lion- 

 est gains. For this purpose he takes his 

 stand upon some lofty tree growing near 

 the shore, and when he sees the fish 

 hawk rise from the water v/itli his prey, 

 he commences the pursuit, and the fish 

 hawk, in order to effect his own escape, 

 s compelled to abandon the fruit of Jiis 

 abor, which is immediately secured by 



the -eagle and borne away to his nest- 

 When this eagle cannot procure a suffi" 

 cient supply of fish, which is its favorite 

 food, it preys upon other birds, and small 

 quadrupeds and reptiles. The nest of the 

 Bald Eagle is built in the top of some 

 lofty tree. It is constructed of sticks 

 lined with coarse grass. The eggs, ac- 

 cording to Audubon, are from two to four, 

 and are of a dull white color. They are 

 usually hatched in May, and require tlie 

 aid of the parents in procuring food till 

 September. 



THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 



FuJco ckrysaiUos. — Linn. 



Description. — JSill bluish gray at tiie 

 base, black at the tip; cere yellow; eye- 

 brows light blue; iris chestnut; fore 

 part of the liead, cheeks, throat and un- 

 der parts, deep brown ; hind head, poste- 

 rior and lateral parts of the neck light 

 brownish yellow, the shafts and conceal- 

 ed parts of the feathers deep brown. The 

 back deep brown, glossy, with purplish 

 reflections; wing coverts ligliter ; prima- 

 ry quills brownish black; the secondaries, 

 with their coverts brown, tliose ne.xt the 

 body more or less mottled with brownish 

 wliite, excepting at the ends; edges of 

 the wings at the flexure pale yellowish 

 brown. Tail dark brown, lighter towards 

 tlie base, with a few irregular whitish 

 markings; tail long, slightly rounded. 

 Wings long; 4th quill longest, and the 

 G first abrupth' cutout on the inner webs. 

 Length 38 inches, spread of the wings 

 7 feet ; bill along the back 2| inches; 

 edge of lower mandible 2^; tarsus 4^ ; 

 middle toe and claw 4^ ; hind claw 2|. 

 E.xtremitics of the folded wings 1 inch 

 short of that of the tail. — JJuduboa. 



History. — The Golden Eagle, though 

 rare, is occasionally seen in Vermont and 

 has sometimes been known to build its 

 nest and rear its young within the state. 

 Tlie nest is placed upon the inaccessible 

 shelf of some rugged precipice, and con- 

 sists of a few sticks aiad weeds barely suf- 

 ficient to keep the eggs from rolling down 

 the rocks. The eggs are two or three in 

 number, 3^ inches long, of a dull white 

 color with uirdefined patches of brown. 

 These eagles leed upon young fawns, 

 hares, raccoons, wild turkies, partridges 

 and other (piadrupeds and birds, but will 

 feed on putrid flesh, only when severely 

 pressed by hunger. 



The following description is drawn 

 from a specimen preserved in the museum 

 of the College of Natural History of the 

 University of Vermont. 



