326 The Bald Eagle 



swam under water, but the eagle was ever on the watch, and in the end 

 they went away through the air together. 



That the. most expert of diving birds cannot always escape was sug- 

 gested by my finding a Pied-billed Grebe in a Bald Eagle's nest on one 

 occasion ; but it is just possible that the grebe had been picked up dead, 

 for eagles are not averse to eating carrion. 



Thus I once found two of them feeding on the carcass of a dead horse 



in company with a flock of vultures, and on another occasion discovered 



four Bald Eagles eating some dead rays that fishermen 



H Vulture a had left n the beach - The old Stol 7 that the y some ~ 

 times carry off children must be dismissed with the 



statement that it is highly improbable for one reason, because babies 

 small enough to be carried by an eagle are not usually left unguarded in 

 situations likely to be visited by these birds. I have never known them to 

 attack domestic animals other than lambs, but C. J. Maynard says : 



While encamped on a small island in the Gulf of Mexico, near the 

 mouth of the Suwannee River, I heard one morning a loud squealing 

 among the half-wild hogs, of which there were an abundance in the place. 

 I found that three eagles were attacking the newly born progeny of an 

 old hog, and she was endeavoring to defend them. The little grunters, 

 of which there were several, had taken refuge under the top of a fallen 

 tree, which, however, afforded them only partial protection ; thus the 

 eagles could see them, and, tempted by the dainty titbits, would swoop 

 downward and endeavor to grasp the little black-and-white pigs in their 

 talons, but were constantly repulsed by the anxious mother, who bravely 

 defended her offspring, at the same time giving vent to some of the most 

 ear-splitting squeals that ever a distressed hog uttered. I do not know 

 how the strife would have ended, had I not interfered. 



Bald Eagles probably like fish better than any other food, for they 

 seem always to be more abundant where the supply of fish is large. A 

 dead fish is of course easy to secure, but many times I have seen them 

 fly down and capture living ones. At least three-fourths of such at- 

 tempts were fruitless, for this eagle does not seem to possess the same 

 skill in this direction that is enjoyed by its somewhat 

 y more agile neighbor, the Osprey. The eagle is very 

 shrewd, however, and, having no inconvenient scruples 

 whatever as to the methods that may be employed in getting food, it 

 does not hesitate in the least to take the Osprey's prey away from it. 



One of the most thrilling sights of the wilderness is to witness such an 

 occurrence. An Osprey laden with its fish cannot possibly out-fly a 

 healthy Bald Eagle, although when pursued it certainly does its best to 

 escape. No matter how hard it tries to get away, the result is usually the 

 same. The eagle gives hot chase, and, soon rising above the Fish Hawk, 

 strikes downward at the smaller bird, which has been rising higher ever 

 since it has discovered that it is being followed. Usually one stroke by 

 the eagle is enough, but sometimes half a dozen are necessary before the 



