162 WHITE-HEADED EAGLE. 



and courage of her lord were quite sufficient for the deed. She now sails 

 to the spot where he eagerly awaits her, and when she has arrived, they 

 together turn the breast of the luckless Swan upwards, and gorge them- 

 selves with gore. 



At other times, when these Eagles, sailing in search of prey, discover 

 / a Goose, a Duck, or a Swan, that has alighted on the water, they accom- 

 plish its destruction in a manner that is worthy of your attention. The 

 Eagles, well aware that water-fowl have it in their power to dive at their 

 / approach, and thereby elude their attempts upon them, ascend in the air 

 / in opposite directions over the lake or river, on which they have observed 

 : J the object which they are desirous of possessing. Both Eagles reach a 

 certain height, immediately after which one of them glides with great 

 swiftness towards the prey ; the latter, meantime, aware of the Eagle's in- 

 tention, dives the moment before he reaches the spot. The pursuer then 

 rises in the air, and is met by its mate, which glides toward the water- 

 bird, that has just emerged to breathe, and forces it to plunge again be- 

 \ neath the surface, to escape the talons of this second assailant. The first 

 \ Eagle is now poising itself in the place where its mate formerly was, and 

 ; rushes anew to force the quarry to make another plunge. By thus alter- 

 nately gliding, in rapid and often repeated rushes, over the ill-fated bird, 

 they soon fatigue it, when it stretches out its neck, swims deeply, and 

 makes for the shore, in the hope of conceaUng itself among the rank 

 weeds. But this is of no avail, for the Eagles follow it in all its mo- 

 tions, and the moment it approaches the margin, one of them darts 

 upon it, and kills it in an instant, after which they divide the spoil. 



During spring and summer, the White-headed Eagle, to procure sus- 

 tenance, follows a different course, and one much less suited to a bird 

 apparently so well able to supply itself without interfering with other 

 plunderers. 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 labour. Perched on some tall summit, in view of the ocean, 

 or of some water-course, he watches every motion of the Osprey 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 per- 

 haps that its life is in danger, drops its prey. In an instant, the Eagle, 

 accurately estimating the rapid descent of the fish, closes his wings, fol- 



