It is because he is such a robber that 
some of the people of America did not 
like to have him chosen to be the bird 
of our nation. They felt that we ought 
to have a bird that is good towards all 
the other birds. 
A poor family once lived for a long 
time by robbing an eagle. The father 
climbed to the nest and took away the 
meat which the eagle brought for its 
young. Every day he got food for his 
family from the eagle. When the 
young birds were almost ready to fly 
he cut the feathers from their wings so 
they coul'! not leave the nest. Then 
he tied them in to make sure of his 
own meat every day. The young ones 
cried harder when tied and the old 
ones thought they were hungry and 
brought them more flesh. 
When the young are old enough to 
fly the old eagles fly above them as if 
to show them how easily it is done. If 
the young do not try to fly when the 
old ones think it time, they are pushed 
out of the nest as if to kill them. But 
the young wings flutter so that the bird 
does not fall hard, and the old bird flies 
under her young one to prevent any 
harm. 
The eye of this bird is so keen that 
it can see a small animal much farther 
than the animal can see the great bird. 
When out of sight in the sky the eagle 
can see a hare as it comes out of its 
hole. It comes down so fast that it 
sometimes catches the hare before it 
can get back to a safe place. 
When the sky is clear the eagle flies 
very high, but on cloudy days he keeps 
nearer the ground. He likes to fly 
over waterfalls because fish are to be 
caught as they pass over the falls. At 
Niagara Falls eagles are often seen 
because animals are sometimes carried 
over the falls by the rushing water, and 
the birds can get them easily. 
The eagle likes to face the sun and 
fly towards it as if he thought he could 
reach it. Fora long time people won- 
dered how he could face the sun so 
without being made blind. But we 
know now that he has a covering for 
his eyes that keeps them from all harm 
from the strong light. If you watcha 
chicken you may see it has two eyelids 
for each eye. So has the eagle. The 
eagle has a sort of eyebrow of feathers 
that may help protect his eyes from 
the strong light. 
’ While the eagle is graceful in flying 
he is not at all so in walking. Few 
birds are so awkward on their feet. 
His great claws are made for catching 
his prey rather than for walking. He 
can tear things with them and use them 
in fighting, but he has not much use for 
them upon the ground. 
When they cannot get the food that 
suits them best eagles will sometimes 
steal farm animals. Lambs, or even full- 
grown sheep are easily carried away. 
They have been known to attack chil- 
dren and carry them off. But they do 
not often do this, and they have been 
known to carry them a little way and 
then set them down again as if the load 
were too great or they did not wish to 
eat them. 
A story is told of a man who lived a 
long time ago, and who had but one 
child, a little girl. He wished to adopt 
a poor little baby boy, but his wife did 
not wish to take care of the boy. He 
had the baby carried to the top of a 
tree in which was the nest of an eagle. 
The baby was placed in the nest so he 
could not fall, and the man and his 
wife walked under the tree. The child 
cried so that the lady heard him. She 
supposed it had been carried there by 
the bird. Great haste was made to get 
the baby down, and the lady was so 
pleased to think she had saved the 
child from being eaten by the birds 
that she kept the little one as her own 
son. 
Eagles hunt in pairs. One flies 
about near the ground to scare the 
game from the bushes and trees, while 
the other keeps watch from above to 
swoop down on the first thing that 
comes in sight. While their young 
ones are in the nest the old birds are 
very active. They are fierce if anyone 
comes near the young. 
Sometimes they show as much cun- 
ning in taking their prey as any of the 
cat family. In flying down to catch 
animals upon the ground they take 
care to fly so that their shadow will 
not frighten their prey. An eagle 
(Continued on page 36.) 
