DUCKS 



They are, for the most part, northern breeding birds 

 and appear on our waters chiefly as migrants. 



CHAPMAN. Handbook of Birds. 21 



Ducks are by far the most beautiful of all aquatic birds 



in the colors of their plumage Their whistling 



flocks that pass frequently over our heads at different 

 seasons always command our attention. 



FLAGG. A Year With the Birds. 26 



EAGLE, BALD 



Because immature birds reverse nature's order and are 

 larger than adults, and their plumage undergoes three 

 changes before they appear at the close of the third year 

 in white heads and tails, some early writers described 

 the black eagle, Washington's eagle, and the bald-headed 



eagle as three distinct birds It is safe to say 



that any eagle seen in the eastern United States is the 

 bald-head. 



Emblem of the Republic, standing for freedom to enjoy 

 life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, it must be owned 

 that our national bird is a piratical parasite whenever 

 he gets the chance. 

 NELTJE BLANCHAN. Birds That Hunt and Are Hunted. 24 



They subsist principally upon fish. As a last resort 

 they sometimes capture these themselves, but dead fish 

 cast upon the shore are eagerly taken, and their habit 

 of robbing the fish hawk of his well-earned booty is too 

 well known to be commented upon. 



CHAPMAN. Handbook of Birds. 21 



65 



