136 BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



and rapine. The Bald Eagle is quite plentiful in the vicinity of large 

 rivers, where the Fish Hawk is common ; unlike this last named bird, 

 however, he cannot be called piscivorous, as he subsists largely on ducks, 

 geese and other aquatic birds. Referring to this eagle, Audubon says : 

 "No sooner does the Fish Hawk make its appearance along our Atlantic 

 shores, or ascend our numerous and large rivers, than the eagle follows 

 it, and, like a selfish oppressor, robs it of the hard-earned fruits of its 

 labor. Perched on some tall summit, in view of the ocean, or of some 

 water-course, he watches every motion of the Fish Hawk while on wing. 

 When the latter rises from the water, with a fish in its grasp, forth 

 rushes the eagle in pursuit. He mounts above the Fish Hawk, and 

 threatens it by actions well understood, when the latter, fearing perhaps 

 that its life is in danger, drops its prey. In an instant, the eagle, accu- 

 rately estimating the rapid descent of the fish, closes his, wings, follows 

 it with the swiftness of thought, and the next moment grasps it. * * 

 This bird now and then procures fish for himself by pursuing them in 

 the shallows of small creeks. I have witnessed several instances of this 

 in the Perkiomen creek in Pennsylvania, where, in this manner, I saw 

 one of them secure a number of Red fins, by wading briskly through the 

 water, and striking at them with his bill. I have also observed a pair 

 scrambling over the ice of frozen pond to get at some fish below, but 

 without success. It does not confine itself to these kinds of food, but 

 greedily devours young pigs, lambs, fawns, poultry and the putrid flesh 

 of carcasses of every description, driving off the vultures and Carrion 

 Crows, or the dogs, and keeping a whole party at defiance until it is 

 satiated." Even man is not exempt from the attacks of these predacious 

 birds. I have repeatedly seen in newspapers, accounts of combats between 

 men and eagles ; frequently the bird would be the aggressor. While it 

 is admitted that these reports are largely due to the imaginative reporter, 

 it is believed that such occurrences do occasionally take place. Verita- 

 ble instances are related of their carrying off infants. According to 

 Wilson, " an attempt of this kind was made upon a child lying by its 

 mother, as she was weeding a garden, at Egg Harbor, New Jersey, but 

 the garment seized upon by the eagle giving way at the instant of the 

 attempt, the child's life was spared." Nuttall speaks of an instance said 

 to have happened at Petersburg, Ga., near the Savannah river, " where 

 an infant, sleeping in the shade near the house, was seized and carried 

 off to the eyry, near the edge of a swamp, Jive miles distant, and when 

 found, almost immediately, the child was dead." 



