GOLDEN EAGLE. 207 



frequenting the marshy shores of Hamilton Bay. It has not been 

 'observed during the breeding season, neither does it occur in winter. 



This species in appearance and habits bears some resemblance to 

 the owls, its full, soft plumage, feathered legs, large head and flat 

 face all pointing in that direction. It is also observed to be fond of 

 hunting in the dim twilight, after all the other hawks have retired 

 and only the owls are abroad. Its manner is quite respectable. It 

 is neither given to whining nor to ferocity, but is one of the " hen- 

 hawks " for whose head a bounty has been offered. We can readily 

 imagine the dignified look of injured innocence he would assume, if 

 he could be placed on the perch and made to understand that he was 

 charged with robbing the hen roost, because the evidence now goes 

 to show that he never touched a hen in his life. 



The Rough-legged Buzzard has the highest record of any of our 

 birds of prey, for its food consists almost entirely of the small mam- 

 mals which are the farmers' worst enemies. It is rather irregularly 

 distributed, but has been found breeding in Labrador, and north 

 even within the Arctic circle. On the sea coast and along the Yukon 

 River it is replaced by the Old World form. 



Genus AQUILA Beissox. 

 AQUILA CHRYSAETOS (Linx.). 



149. Golden Eagle. (349) 



Dark brown, with a purplish gloss; lanceolate feathers of head and neck, 

 golden-brown; quills, blackish. In the young, tail, white, with a broad 

 terminal black zone. About 3 feet long ; wing, upwards of 2 feet ; tail, a foot 

 or more. 



Hab. — North America, south to Mexico. Northern parts of the Old World. 



Nest, an accumulation of sticks, usually placed on an inaccessible rocky 

 crag, more rarely in a tree. 



Eggs, two, rarely three, soiled white, marked with brown or chestnut. 



This fierce and daring Eagle has its home among the rugged and 

 inaccessible cliffs of Canada East; but in the fall it is seen following 

 the flocks of water-fowl, which, at this season, visit the lakes to rest 

 and recruit themselves as they travel southward. Some years ago I 

 asked a boy, whose home I considered a favorable point for getting 

 birds of prey, to shoot any hawks or owls he saw and bring them to 

 me. A few days afterwards I saw him approaching my house with a 



