BALD EAGLE 



Male and Female — Head, neek and ta;il white, other 

 plumage blackish-brown ; bill and feet yellow ; legs nearly cov- 

 ered with feathers. Length, thirty to forty inches. 



Nest, in a high tree, generally an evergreen, is built 

 of sticks loosely laid together and slightly lined with coarse 

 grass. Eggs, two to three, nearly white, 2.90 x 2.20 inches. 



Bald Eagles were formerly quite numerous along the 

 Atlantic coast and near the large streams and inland lakes of 

 our country, but, owing to the wanton killing of them, they are 

 now rarely seen in New York State. If one is discovered at the 

 present time, the fact is considered important enough to publish 

 far and wide. Mounted specimens in museums and a few live 

 birds in zoos afford the only opportunities for most people to 

 study them. They winter along the coast of the Southern 

 States. West of the Mississippi and especially in the Rocky 

 Mountains, this species is replaced by the Golden Eagle, a bird 

 of nearly the same size, but differing widely from it in color. 



This Eagle prefers fish to any other kind of diet. It does 

 not plunge into the water for its food like' some birds, but con- 

 tents itself mainly with the dead fish found floating on the 

 surface. Soaring far aloft it frequently descends upon the 

 Fish Hawk as that bird rises from the water with a fish and 

 compels it to drop its prey and flee for safety. Quickly over- 

 taking the falling fish and seizing it in its talons, the Eagle flies 

 away to a tree-top or a rocky cliff to devour it. If fish cannot 

 be obtained, this bird will take small animals for food, not 

 caring whether they are dead or alive. 



In appearance this is the most imposing bird of our 



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