CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 1. RAPTORES. 



43 



current, and precipitated down that tremendous gulf, where, among the rocks that bound the 

 rapids below, they furnish a rich repast for the vulture, the raven, and bald eagle, the subject of the 



present account. Formed by nature for brav- 

 ing the severest cold ; feeding equally on the 

 produce of the sea and of the land ; possess- 

 ing powders of flight capable of outstripping 

 even the tempests themselves; unawed by any 

 thing but man ; and, from the ethereal heights 

 to which he soars, looking abroad, at one 

 glance, on an immeasurable expanse of for- 

 ests, fields, lakes, and ocean, deep below him, 

 he appears indifferent to localities and to 

 change of seasons ; as, in a few minutes, he 

 can pass from summer to winter, from the 

 lower to the higher regions of the atmosphere, 

 the abode of eternal cold, and thence descend, 

 at will, to the torrid, or the arctic regions of 

 the earth. He is, therefore, found at all sea- 

 sons in the countries he inhabits ; but prefers 

 such places as have been mentioned above, 

 from the great partiality he has for fish. 



" In procuring these, he displays, in a very 

 singular manner, the genius and energy of his 

 character, which is fierce, contemplative, dar- 

 ing, and tyrannical — attributes not exerted 

 but on particular occasions, but, when put 

 forth, overpowering all opposition. Elevated 

 on the high dead limb of some gigantic tree 

 that commands a wide view of the neighbor- 

 ing shore and ocean, he seems calmly to con- 

 template the motions of the various feathered 

 tribes that pursue their busy avocations below 

 — the snow-white gulls slowly winnowing the 

 air; the busy tringce coursing along the sands; 

 trains of ducks streaming over the surface ; 

 silent and watchful cranes, intent and wading; 

 clamorous crows ; and all the winged multi- 

 tudes that subsist by the bounty of this vast liquid magazine of nature. High over all these 

 hovers one, whose action instantly arrests his whole attention. By his wide curvature of wing, 

 and sudden suspension in air, he knows him to be the fish-hawk, settling over some devoted vic- 

 tim of the deep. His eye kindles at the sight, and balancing himself, with half-opened wings, on 

 the branch, he watches the result. Down, rapid as an arrow from heaven, descends the distant 

 object of his attention, the roar of its wings reaching the ear as it disappears in the deep, making 

 the surges foam around. At this moment, the eager looks of the eagle are all ardor ; and level- 

 ing his neck for flight, he sees the fish-hawk once more emerge, struggling with his prey, and 

 mounting in the air with screarhs of exultation. These are the signal for our hero, who, launch- 

 ing into the air, instantly gives chase, and soon gains on the fish-hawk ; each exerts his utmost 

 to mount above the other, displaying in these rencontres the most elegant and subhme aerial 

 evolutions. The unencumbered eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the point of reaching his 

 opponent, when, with a sudden scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the latter 

 drops his fish ; the eagle, poising himself for a moment, as if to take a more certain aim, descends 

 like a whirlwind, snatches it in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten booty 

 silently away to the woods. 



HEAD AND FOOT OF BALD EAGLE. 



