FALCONS. 



19 



From the latter circumstance, they usually prefer 

 to strike their prey on the ground, the weight of 

 their bodies rendering them unfitted for pursuing 

 a flying prey through its quick and tortuous evo- 

 lutions. They breed in solitude, on the inacces- 

 sible crags of precipitous mountains. 



The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos, LINN.) 

 is the noblest species of the whole Family, for 

 size, strength, and courage. It has been esteemed 



GOLDEN EAGLE. 



by nations widely separated as the emblem of 

 majesty and power : the might of the Babylonian 

 empire was described under this image in Sacred 

 Prophecy ; * the iron legions of Rome in ancient, 



* See Jer. xlviii. 40, xlix. 16 ; Ezek. xvii. 3, &c. 



