OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 281 



They measure from 2.^5 to 2.25 inches in length, and from 

 1.78 to i. 68 inches in width. 



Haliaetus leucocephalus, (LINN.) Sav. 



The White-headed or Bald Eagle is quite extensively dis- 

 tributed throughout the North American Continent. It 

 ranges from the Gulf of Mexico and Central America, to 

 the ^8 of north latitude. Richardson discovered both it 

 and the Osprey nesting on the banks of Bear Lake River, 

 as high as the 6oth parallel of latitude. At Fort Confidence, 

 66 ^4' north, these birds were seen as early as May 171 

 while the streams were yet ice-bound. Mr. Macfarlane 

 found it by no means a common breeder in latitude 67 30'. 

 In the regions of Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes, Mr. 

 B. R. Ross found it very abundant, and gives its range 

 north to the Arctic Circle. At Sitka, it is evidently quite 

 common, according to BischofT. In Washington Territory, 

 especially along the Columbia' River, it is one of the most 

 abundant species of the Falconidce. Dr. Newberry found it 

 very plentiful in both California and Oregon, in certain sec- 

 tions. In Florida and Texas, according to Messrs. Allen 

 and Dresser, it is very common, and breeds quite abundantly. 

 From the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific coast, Dr. Wood- 

 house did not find it in great numbers. It breeds from the 

 St. Lawrence River to the peninsula of Florida, thence 

 along the coast to Mexico, and also along the Gulf tribu- 

 taries. Inwardly, it breeds northward to the Arctic Circle. 



In Eastern Pennsylvania, along the banks of the Wissa- 

 hickon, individuals are occasionally seen. In the spring of 

 1870, a fine female was shot from the summit of a small 

 apple-tree, near a farmhouse, whither it had strayed in 

 company with its mate, for food. A year later, a male-bird 

 was shot upon the identical tree, closely resembling the 

 female which had been taken the previous year, although 

 being somewhat smaller. The latter differed in no essential 

 particulars of plumage from the former. It is evident that 



