EAG 



yards before me, where the doctor had, a few days 

 before, slaughtered some hogs, and alight upon a low 

 tree branching over the road. I prepared my double- 

 barrelled piece, which I constantly carry, and went 

 slowly and cautiously towards him. Quite fearlessly 

 he waited my approach, looking upon me with un- 

 daunted eye. I fired, and he fell. Before I reached 

 him, he was dead. With what delight did I survey 

 the magnificent bird ! Had the finest salmon ever 

 pleased him as he did me ? Never. I ran and pre- 

 sented him to my friend, with a pride which they 

 alone can feel who, like me, have devoted themselves 

 from their earliest childhood to such pursuits, and who 

 have derived .from them their first pleasures. To 

 others I must seem to prattle out of fashion. The 

 doctor, who was an experienced hunter, examined the 

 bird with much satisfaction, and frankly acknowledged 

 he had never before seen or heard of it. 



"The name which I have chosen for this new species 

 of eagle, ' the bird of Washington,' may, by some, be 

 considered as preposterous and unfit ; but, as it is in- 

 disputably the noblest bird of its genus that has yet 

 been discovered in the United States, I trust I shall 

 be allowed to honour it with the name of one yet 

 nobler, who was the saviour of his country, and whose 

 name will ever be dear to it. To those who may be 

 curious to know my reasons, I can only say that, as 

 the New World gave me birth and liberty, the great 

 man who ensured its independence is next to my 

 heart. He had a nobility of mind, and a generosity 

 of soul, such as are seldom possessed. He was brave, 

 so is the eagle ; like it, too, he was the terror of his 

 foes ; and his fame, extending from pole to pole, re- 

 sembles the majestic soarings of the mightiest of the 

 feathered tribe. If America has reason to be prouc 

 of her Washington, so has she to be proud of her 

 great eagle. 



" In the month of January following, I saw a pai 

 of these eagles flying over the falls of the Ohio, one 

 in pursuit of the other. The next day I saw then 

 again. The female had relaxed her severity, had laic 

 aside her coyness, and to a favourite tree they con 

 tinually resorted. I pursued them unsuccessfully fo 

 several days, when they forsook the place. 



" The flight of this bird is very different from tha 

 of the white-headed eagle. The former encircles '< 

 greater space whilst sailing, keeps nearer to the Ian 

 and the surface of the water, and when about to dive 

 for fish, fulls in a spiral manner, as if with the intentior 

 of checking any retreating movement which its prej 

 might attempt, darting upon it only when a few yard 

 distant. The-fish hawk often does the same. When 

 rising with a fish, the bird of Washington flies to 

 considerable distance, forming, in its line of course, 

 very acute angle with the surface line of the water 

 My last opportunity of seeing this bird was on th 

 loth of November, 1821, a few miles above the mout! 

 of the Ohio, when two passed over our boat, movniL 

 down the river with a gentle motion. In a letter from 

 a kind relative, Mr. W. Blakewell, dated ' Falls of th 

 Ohio, July 1810,' and containing particulars relativ 

 to the swallow-tailed hawk (Falcofurcatus\d\a.t gen 

 tleman says ' Yesterday, for the first time, I had a 

 opportunity of viewing one of those magnificent birc 

 which you call the sea eagle, as it passed low ove 

 me, whilst fishing. I shall be really glad when I ca 

 again have the pleasure of seeing your drawing of it 

 " Whilst in Philadelphia, about twelve months agi 

 I had the gratification of seeing a specimen of th 

 NAT. HIST. VOL. II. 



L E. 369 



agle at Mr. Brans's museum. It was a male, in fine 

 umage, and beautifully preserved. I wished to 

 urchase it, with a view to carry it to Europe, but 

 le price put upon it was above my means." 



Such is the description given by Audobon of this 

 ird, or rather of the effects the sight of it pro- 

 uced on him ; though, as we have before stated, there 

 re some reasons to doubt whether this ought to be 

 onsidered as a separate species. Indeed, in all those 

 laces where eagles range far over countries naturally 

 ide and wild, there are always some difficulties 

 ttending their natural history. In North America, 

 eagle pasture extends from the Northern Lakes 

 o the Gulf of Mexico, or, indeed, it may be said, all 

 he way to South America ; and in the course of so 

 ixtensive a range, and where the seasons are so very 

 ariable as they are in this great valley, we may be 

 repared to meet many differences of appearance, 

 md encounter no small difficulty in ascertaining with 

 >erfect correctness whether individual specimens, 

 svhich are seen occasionally, at long distances from 

 ach other, and under different circumstances, be or 

 >e not the same species. 



It has been alleged by some that the golden eagle, 

 or a species somewhat allied, has been seen on the 

 eastern slopes of the Stony Mountains ; and it is not 

 impossible that some such bird may visit this district, 

 which is very analogous to those which the same 

 species of eagle inhabits in Europe ; but that which 

 Audobon here describes is positively said to be a 

 fishing eagle ; and were it not for the great length of 

 wing which he states it to possess, one would be not 

 a little inclined to regard it as being probably an indi- 

 vidual of the following species I- 

 THE HAIIPY EAGLE (Harpyia destructor). This 

 is also a fishing eagle, and belongs to different pas- 

 tures from the sea eagle, the osprey, and the other 

 long-winged fishers. It is a very large bird ; and its 

 beak and claws, which are invariably larger in propor- 

 tion as these birds have more of the fishing habit, are 

 very formidable in appearance. The general aspect of 

 the bird is, however, somewhat feeble, and not at all in 

 accordance with its size ; and there is a restlessness 

 about it which is not characteristic of the more power- 

 ful eagles, the habit of which is repose, in all cases 

 where they are not under the excitement of seeking 

 their prey. From the figure given in the plate, EAGLES, 

 and the following description, some judgment may be ' 

 formed of the appearance, and partially, at least, of 

 the character of this large bird. Its predatory habits 

 are denoted by its very robust legs, and the extraor- 

 dinary curvature of its beak and talons ; the upper 

 mandible suddenly curving downwards with a strong 

 arch or hook towards the point, which is excessively 

 sharp. By this structure, and the shortness of the 

 wings, it is readily distinguished from the other eagles. 

 The usual length of an adult specimen, as that in 

 the Zoological Gardens, is three feet and a half from 

 beak to tail. The head is covered with thick downy 

 plumage of slaty grey, with a crest of black and grey 

 feathers rising from the back part of the head, which 

 the bird raises considerably when excited. The back 

 and wings and fore part of the neck are black ; the 

 feathers of the back terminating rather lighter ; from 

 the breast backwards is pure white ; and the plumage 

 of the legs is white with blackish bars. The tail is 

 ashy, banded with black ; the beak and claws are 

 black, and the legs, which are partly feathered, dusky 

 vellow. Such is the description of a specimen which 

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