412 THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 



No. 185. 

 GOLDEN EAGLE. 



A. O. U. No. 349. Aquila chrysaetos (Linn.). 



Description. — Adult: General plumage rich dark brown, sometimes paling 

 on wing-coverts, etc. ; the lanceolate feathers of occiput and cervix bufi'y-tipped 

 and tawny-edged (scarcely "golden", but the name arises here) ; wing-quills 

 and tail blackish, the latter clouded or obscurely barred for the basal two-thirds 

 with grayish brown and whitish; tarsi, fully feathered to the toes, paler or 

 whitish. The birds become somewhat gray with age. Immature: Like adult, 

 but basal two-thirds of tail plain white contrasting with terminal black; tarsi still 

 paler or white. (Authorities flatly disagree as to whether the white-tailed 

 bird is adult or young; I follow Ridgway. There is a difference but for pity's 

 sake let's not go and kill off the rest of the Eagles for the sake of finding out 

 who is in the right.) Adult male length 30.00-36.00 (762.-914.4) ; wing about 

 24.00 (609.6); tail about 14.50 (368.3) ; bill 1.60 (40.6); tarsus 3.75 (95.3). 

 Adult female length 35.00-40.00 (889.-1016.) ; wing about 26.00 (660.4); tail 

 IS-SO (393-7); bill 1.80 (45.7); tarsus 4.18 (106.2). Extent of wing from six 

 and one-half to seven and one-half feet. 



Recognition Marks. — Largest; not easily distinguished at distance from 

 immature Bald Eagle ; feathered tarsi, of course, distinctive. 



Nest, a bulky platform of sticks, on cliffs, or, more rarely, in trees. Bggs, 

 2 or 3, diuU whitish, usually speckled, spotted, blotched or stained distinctly and 

 faintly with reddish brown. Av. size, 2.96 x 2.32 (75.2 x 58.9). 



General Range. — North America south to Mexico, and northern parts of 

 the Eastern Hemisphere. Breeding range in the United States practically re- 

 stricted to the mountainous parts of unsettled regions. 



Range in Ohio. — Probably no longer resident, but rare winter visitor only. 



BECAUSE of the racial weakness for symbols and striking generaliza- 

 tions, we have been taught that the Golden Eagle is the embodiment of all regal 

 qualities, including courage, magnanimity, and valor in defense of offspring. 

 There is some foundation for all this. In his mountain home the majestic flight 

 of the Eagle truly befits the grandeur of the scene. Cradled on a beetling cliff 

 and schooled in the clouds, it is little wonder that the Eagle should have be- 

 come for us the symbol of both prowess and aspiration. Even in captivity 

 there is something awful about his piercing eye, and the unrest of the royal 

 captive appeals to all that is chivalrous in our natures. 



But the reputation of the Eagle race, quite as in the case of our own, has 

 been made by a few individuals, and their feats are a revelation of the 

 possibilities inherent in th£ breed rather than chapters from common life. Never 

 shall I forget the pained disappointment of my first Golden Eagle's nest in the 

 Cascade Mountains of Washington. The situation was romantic enough — 

 a ledge of rock some three hundred and fifty feet up on the side of the gulch 

 and seventy-five feet clear of the talus below. At the time of my first visit, 

 May i8th, the nest contained two eaglets about six weeks old. Armed with 



