FALCONID^ — THE FALCONS. 331 



especially near the lieadwaters of some of the rivers. He was told \>y liis 

 Cfuide, Westfall, that in j)assiiig a distance of I'oity miles ho had noticed 

 eigiit nests. It also hreeds ou tlie Altacosa. Dr. Woodliouse found tliese 

 l)irds, init nowhere very abundant, from the Gulf of ^lexico to the Pacific, 

 along Ins entire route, and Dr. C'ouos observed them neai' Fort Whipple. 



The statements of Ttanminck tliat this Ea>^le lias been taken accidentally 

 in Central Europe, Switzerland, and Ciermany, and also that it breeds in 

 Northwestern Europe, are not now credited ; and more recent scrutiny of 

 tlicse su])iiosed facts cast discredit upon them, and show tliat there is no 

 well-authenticated instance of its having been detected in Europe. 



The White-headed Eagle appears to be e(iually well ada])teil by nature lor 

 the endurance of heat or cold, and is ajiparently indilferent to eitlier. Its 

 residence is infhienced only by its abundance of food, especially tliat of fish ; 

 and it seems to matter very little whether tliat plenty is jirocurable within 

 the Arctic Circle or on the coast and rivers of Florida and Texas. In ])laces 

 like the Falls of Niagara, where the stream is ever liable to contribute the 

 remains of animals destroyed by the descent of the torrent, this Eagle is espe- 

 cially abundant. Unscrupulous, greedy, voracious, not select in its choice 

 of food, and capable of providing for itself when necessity compels, we find 

 this not altogether unsuitable emblem of our country now enacting the 

 tyrant and rol)ber and plundering the Fishhawk of the i'ruits of its in- 

 dustry, now sharing with the liaven and the Vulture the dead salmon of 

 the Columbia, and in other places diving for ai'd catching its own fish. The 

 impetuosity and skill with which it pursues, overtakes, and robs the Fish- 

 hawk, bearing off a fish it has just taken, must be witnessed to be appreci- 

 ated ; and the swiftness with which the Eagle can dart down upon and seize 

 the booty, which the Hawk has been compelled to let fall, before it reaches 

 t)ie water, is not the least wonderful feature of this striking performance. 

 On the banks of the Columbia, where there are no Fishhawks to depend 

 upon, this bird finds an easy subsistence on the vast numbers of dead and 

 dying salmon which abound ; and in Florida Mr. Allen has observed it 

 dive and catch its own fish. This is also confirmed by the statements of 

 other naturalists. Wilson also accuses this Eagle of destroying great num- 

 bers of young pigs in the Southern States, ycmng lamb^, and evu.i sickly 

 sheep ; and in one instance it attempted to carry off a child, which was only 

 saved by its dress giving way. 



The White-headed Eagle l)reeds along the Atlantic coast from the St. Law- 

 rence to Florida, and thence westward to Mexico along the coast and anion" 

 the triiiutaries of the Gulf. In the interior it breeds as far north as the 

 Arctic Circle. 



liichardson states that it abounds in the watery districts of Ru]iert's Land, 

 and a nest may be looked for within every twenty or thirty miles. Each 

 pair appropriates a certain range of country, on which they are said to suffer 

 no intruders of their own sjiecies to encroach ; but the nest of the Osprey is 



