DIURNAL BIRDS OF PRET. 211 



majesty througt the sky, and looking down with apparent disdatin 

 on all sublunary things. It weighs from twelve to fourteen 

 pounds : the bill is deep blue, and the cere yellow : the prevailing 

 color in the head and neck is a dark brown, bordered with tawny; 

 and the hind part of the head is of a bright rust color : the legs 

 are yellow and feathered to the toes ; these are protected by scales : 

 the claws are remarkably large, showing how formidable this bird 

 must be to its prey ; the middle claw is two inches in length. 



The Golden Eagle is a native of Europe, and has even been 

 found in some of the more wild and mountainous parts of Great 

 Britain. The golden eagles choose for the place of their abode, 

 where they build their nests, elevated rocks, ruinous and solitary 

 castles and towers, and other retired situations, secure from the 

 annoyance and the visits of men. The nest diflFers from the gene- 

 rality of the nests of other birds : they are KOt hollow, but flat. 

 Male and female unite their efforts in rearing their domestic abode, 

 and generally place it between two rocks, in a situation both dry 

 and inaccessible. 



It is said that the nest of the Golden Eagle lasts him durinp 

 all his lengthened life; and we all know that the length of the 

 life of the Eagle is proverbial.^ In form the nest resembles v 

 floor ; the basis consists of sticks about five or six feet in length, 

 which are supported at each end, and these are covered with 

 layers of rushes and heath. 



The golden eagles are exceedingly muscular; but their 

 strength appears most conspicuous in their beak, their talons, and 

 their wings. There is scarcely any quadruped able to stand before 

 them. They have been known to strike a man dead with one 

 flap of their wings. They live to a great age; one that died U 

 Vienna had been in confinement above a century. They have 

 also this peculiarity, of bearing abstinence from food for a period 

 of time which would destroy the life of the greatest number of 

 animals. 



The Bearded Eagle. — The Faleo Barbatus, or Bearded 

 Eagle, has a beak of a purplish flesh color, and hooked only at the 

 point. The head and neck are covered with feathers. It is called 



