BALD EAGLE. 21 



own sustenance without molesting the Osprey. The circles he 

 describes in his flight are wider than those of the White- 

 headed Eagle ; he also flies nearer to the land or the surface 

 of the water ; and when about to dive for his prey, he descends 

 in circuitous, spiral rounds, as if to check the retreat of the 

 fish, on which he darts only when within the distance of a few 

 yards. When his prey is obtained, he flies out at a low eleva- 

 tion to a considerable distance to enjoy his repast at leisure. 

 The quantity of food consumed by this enormous bird is very 

 great, according to the account of those who have had them 

 in confinement. Mr. Audubon's male bird weighed fourteen 

 and one half pounds avoirdupois. One in a small museum in 

 Philadelphia (according to the account of my friend Mr. C. 

 Pickering) , also a male, weighed much more, — by which dif- 

 ference it would appear that they are capable of becoming 

 exceedingly fat ; for the length of this bird was about the same 

 as that of Audubon, — three feet six or seven inches. The 

 width, however, was only about seven feet, — agreeing pretty 

 nearly with a specimen now in the New England Museum. 

 The male of the Golden Eagle, the largest hitherto known, is 

 seldom more than three feet long. 



That this bird is not the White-tailed Eagle {Falco albi- 

 cilla), or its young, the Sea Eagle (JF. ossifragus), is obvi- 

 ous from the difference in size alone, the male of that bird 

 being little over two feet four inches in length, or a little 

 less even than the Bald Eagle. The female of the Washing- 

 ton Eagle must, of course, be six or eight inches longer, — 

 which will give a bird of unparalleled magnitude amongst the 

 whole Eagle race. This measurement of the Sea Eagle is 

 obtained from Temminck's " Manual of Ornithology," who has 

 examined more than fifty individuals. At the same time I have 

 a suspicion that the Washington Eagle, notwithstanding this, 

 exists also in Europe ; as the great Sea Eagle of Brisson is 

 described by this author as being three feet six inches in length 

 from the point of the bill to the end of the tail, and the stretch 

 of the wings about seven feet ! These measurements also are 

 adopted by Buffon ; but the individuals were evidently in young 



