GOLDEN EAGLE. 433 



Aquila ohryscetus, var. eanademis, Langdon, Revised List, Journ. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist,!, 



1879, 180 ; Reprint, 4. 

 Golden Eagle, Kiktland, Fam. Visitor, i, 1850, 15. 



Falcofulvus, LiNN^ua, Syst Nat., i, 1766, 125. 



Falco ehrijsaetos, LiNNiEUs, Syst. Nat,, i, 1766, 125. 



Aquila chryaaeios, Beisson, Orn., i, 431. 



Aquila canadensis, Cassin, Birds, N. Am., 1858, 41. 



Aquila ohrysaetoe, var. canadensis, Ridgway, B. B & R., N. A. Birds, iii, 1874, 314. 



Dark-brown with a pnr^^lish gloss; lanceolate feathers of head and neck golden- 

 brown; quills blackish ; in the jonng, tail white with a broad terminal black zone. 

 Abont 3 feet long ; wing, upwards of 2 feet ; tail a foot or more. 



Habitat, North America, northerly. Sonth, ordinarily to about 35°. Europe. Asia. 



Rare winter visitor, formerly more common, and, perhaps, rare resident 

 throughout the year. Dr. Kirtland mentions its occasional visits to the 

 shores of Lake Erie, and says that Mr. Dorfeuille had seen a specimen 

 taken in the State. Mr. Read says ; 



"It is often seen on the [Lake] shore, and it is said that a pair have nested for 

 several years in a high tree on a woody point of the shore near Sandusky Bay. The 

 Rev. Sam'l Wright of Toledo, now deceased, wrote me in the winter of 1853, that he 

 then had a young bird of this species, which was quite tame, and a very interesting pet. 

 It fully answered the description of the ' Ring-tailed Eagle.' After the death of Mr. 

 Wright it "was promised'to the writer, but, escaping from confinement, though acouB- 

 tomed to obey the voice of its old master, it could nut be recaptured, and at last 

 accounts was still lingering about the neighborhood of the city." 



Mr. Kirkpatrick says : 



'In 1810, when Dr. Kirtland first came to this State, Eagles where plentiful, and 

 were to be seen flying along the lake shore. Among these, Golden Eagles were 

 occasionally to be seen, but as all the large predacious birds have become comparatively 

 scarce, it is somewhat doubtful if this species now visits Ohio.'' 



Mr. Langdon gives it as a rare spring and fall migrant in the vicinity 

 of Cincinnati. A specimen in my collection, for which I am indebted to 

 Mr. J. L. Stelzig, was wounded in Hocking county in the fall of 1877, 

 and presented to the City Park of this city. It died in February, 1878. 

 Another specimen, mounted by Mr. Oliver Davie, of this city, was said to 

 have been taken alive in this State, but the exact locality could not be 

 ascertained. 



The Golden Eagle, in this country, usually places its nest on in- 

 accessible rocks, rarely on trees. The nest is composed of large sticks, 

 and is a massive structure, from four to six feet in height and six or 

 seven feet in diameter. The same eyrie is occupied by the same pair 

 for many years. The eggs are usually three, soiled whitish, marked and 

 spotted with various shades of dark-brown. They are nearly spherical, 

 measuring from 2.65 to 3.00 by from 2.35 to 2.16. 

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