31 



THE OOLOGISt 



edly bound for their breeding grounds 

 in the far north. 



A pair of Northern Pileated Wood- 

 peckers has nested for several years 

 in a certain dead tree near the edge of 

 some woods. In one of tlie winter 

 gales the tree w^as blown over. The 

 birds returned as usuel to their old 

 nesting site, but they soon left, prob- 

 ably to seek another suitable tree. 

 Yours truly, 



Stuart T. Danforth. 



East Jaffrey, N. H. 



BALD EAGLES. 



Ten Bald Eagles passed down the 

 Caddo River (Northeast) on January 

 3, 1917. I never saw so many eagles 

 together before, three white-headed 

 ones, the rest being dark. The Caddc 

 River passes through the northwest 

 corner of Pike County, Arkansas. 



Walter G. Savage. 



SOME FACTS ABOUT KING EAGLE. 



For some hundreds of years the 

 eagle has been called the king of birds, 

 doubtless due to a certain royal ap- 

 pearance, a fierce, haughty spirit and 

 the indisputable mastery of the air. 

 Since the days of the early Romans 

 he has been the emblem of nations. 

 He is the emblem of freedom in our 

 own beloved country. In three of the 

 nations now fighting in the terrible 

 war, on the other side of the ocean, 

 Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, he 

 appears upon their standards. On the 

 coat-of-arms of that other war-torn 

 nation, Mexico, the eagle appears. 



Here we have two distinct species, 

 the bald eagle and the golden eagle. 

 The latter is rarely seen east of the 

 Mississippi River, but the former 

 ranges throughout the continent. It 

 gets its name from the snowy white 

 head which it acquires when 

 four years old. The tail also becomes 

 white at that time. The golden eagle 



has its legs feathered clear to the feet, 

 while the bald eagle has not. The 

 golden eagle is so called because of 

 the golden-brown hue of the heaa 

 feathers of the adults. The latter 

 builds on lonely cliffs, rarely in a tree, 

 while the Baldy usually chooses the 

 latter for his home. 



Eagles mate for life, and, if undis- 

 turbed, use the same nest year after 

 year, adding fresh material to it until 

 it becomes immense. Rarely are more 

 than two eggs laid, and the young are 

 two months old before they can fly. 

 The bald eagle prefers to be near 

 water, and is a great lover of fish. Not 

 being a natural fisherman himself, he 

 exercises the royal privilege of exact- 

 ing trib \te, watching until a fish hawk 

 has made a successful plunge, and 

 then robbing him. He also feeds on 

 rabbits, hares and birds. 



On the ground he is very awkward 

 and clumsy, because of his great 

 curved claws, but in the air he is 

 majestic and wonderful, as becomes a 

 king. He will soar up on his broad 

 wings until he is lost from view in 

 the clouds. His eyesight is little 

 short of marvelous. Each pair of birds 

 has a recognized hunting ground on 

 which none other may intrude. The 

 female is slightly larger than the male. 

 They live to a great age. — The Young 

 People's Weekly. — W. A. Strong, San 

 Jose, Cal. 



WIRELESS DRIVES AWAY PELI- 

 CANS. 



A curious effect of the immense 

 United States naval wireless station 

 on Point Loma, California, has been 

 to drive away all the pelicans that 

 once frequented the Point and San 

 Diego Bay. 



The birds are amply protected by 

 law. No one is allowed to shoot, trap, 

 or disturb their nests, but the pelican 

 is passing. One may stand on Sunset 



