EAGLES' NESTS. 97 



treated develops a mild and gentle disposition, but it 

 never forgives insult or harsh treatment. It has an 

 excellent memory, and will avenge, if it can, an 

 injury years after receiving it. 



EAGLES' NESTS, 



AND THEIR BABIES. 



Eaglets are not as cunning and pretty as little 

 chickens or ducks. It is true, they are covered all 

 over with a handsome coat of soft, velvety, straw- 

 colored down, but their heads seem much too big for 

 their bodies, and as for their feet they are so large 

 and heavy that the young birds can not stand or walk 

 upon them. Even when they are very young their 

 eyes are sharp and fierce, and so are their crooked 

 beaks, always ready to snap at any fish or meat that 

 comes in their way. 



Baby eagles are very greedy indeed, and never 

 seem to have enough to eat. The eggs from which 

 they are hatched are the size of a rather small hen's 

 egg, about two inches long, but they are not shaped 

 like biddy's eggs ; they are as round as baseballs, and 

 rough to the touch on the outside. 



The nest which the papa and mamma eagle builds 

 is very large and strong. It sometimes measures six 

 feet or more across, and from four to five feet in 

 thickness. It is not always hollowed out, as are the 

 nests of most other birds, but is flat on the top like 



