At the Water's Edge 



thologist may have as much desire, although 

 of quite another sort, to see an eagle or a hawk, 

 as a rose-breasted grosbeak or a thrush. 



It is a curious fact in regard to birds of prey, 

 as distinguished from the generality of the race, 

 that the female is commonly larger than the 

 male; and also interesting to note that an 

 eagle in its second year is larger than ever after- 

 ward. I have never heard its subsequent shrink- 

 age accounted for. The difficulties and occa- 

 sional uncertainties of bird-classification are 

 well illustrated by this bald eagle, whose plum- 

 age is so different in the various stages of its 

 growth as to have misled even Audubon into 

 supposing a young specimen he found to be a 

 distinct species. Apparently familiar only with 

 the mature plumage of the bird, he congratu- 

 lated himself immensely on the supposed dis- 

 covery; which, in admiration of his adopted 

 country's father, he named " the bird of Wash- 

 ington." There are, however, only two dis- 

 tinct species in the entire country — the bald 

 and the golden eagles. In its second year the 

 bald eagle is much lighter in color, and not 

 until the third year does it attain its perma- 

 nent coloring — head, fore-neck, and tail pure^ 

 white, the rest of the body dark brown. 

 199 



