22 BIRDS OF PREY. 



plumage, in which state, as described by Brisson, they again 

 approach the present species. Nor need it be considered as 

 surprising if two different species be confounded in the Sea 

 Eagle of Europe, as the recently established Imperial Eagle 

 had ever been confounded with the Golden. Another distin- 

 guishing trait of the Washington Eagle is in the length of the 

 tail, which is one and one half inches longer than the folded 

 wings. In the White-tailed species this part never extends 

 beyond the wings. 



The White-headed or Bald Eagle. — This noble and daring 

 Eagle is found along the sea- coasts, lakes, and rivers through- 

 out the northern regions, being met with in Asia, Europe, and 

 America, where they extend to the shores of the Pacific, and 

 as far as the confines of California. In Behring's Isle, Mack- 

 enzie's River, and Greenland, they are not uncommon. But 

 while they are confined in the Old World to this cheerless re- 

 gion so constantly that only two instances are known of their 

 appearance in the centre of Europe, in the United States they 

 are most abundant in the milder latitudes, residing, breeding, 

 and rearing their young in all the intermediate space from 

 Nova Scotia or Labrador to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. 

 The rocky coast of this part of New England (Massachusetts) 

 is, however, seldom tenanted by this species, though they are 

 occasionally seen in the spring and about the commencement 

 of winter. In the United States it is certain that they show a 

 decided predilection for the milder climates. It is probable 

 that in Europe they are deterred in their migrations by the 

 tyrannical persecution of the White-tailed Eagle {F. albicilla^, 

 which abounds in that country, living also principally on fish, 

 and therefore selecting the same maritime situations as our 

 Eagle. In the United States he sways almost without control 

 the whole coast of the Atlantic, and has rendered the rival 

 Osprey his humble tributary, proscribing, in his turn, the ap- 

 pearance of the Sea Eagle, which, if it exist at all with us, is 

 equally as rare as the present species appears to be in Europe. 



Though on Behring's Isle the Bald Eagle is said to nest on 



