BIRDS OF PREY 



(352) Haliseetus leucocephalus 

 leucocephalus 



(Linn.) (Gr., a sea-eagle; white-head). 



BALD EAGLE; WHITE- 

 HEADED EAGLE. Tarsi not 

 feathered to the toes. Ads. — Plum- 

 age as shown; blackish-brown, with 

 white head and tail; this plumage 

 is not fully attained until the bird 

 is over three years of age. Im. — 

 Blackish-brown all over with only 

 a few whitish feathers showing. The 

 second year they are grayer, with 

 more white and are larger than the 

 adults. L., 34.00; Ex., 6 or 7 feci; 

 W., 23.00; T., 12.00; Tar., 3.75. 



Range — Whole U. S., breeding 

 locally. A rather larger, blacker 

 variety, NORTHERN BALD 

 EAGLE (H. 1. alascanus) is found 

 throughout Canada and Alaska. 

 South to the Great Lakes. 



In form, they are trim, clean-cut, and powerful, and in 

 flight are very graceful for such large, heavy birds. They 

 are almost always seen in pairs and probably remain mated 

 for life. Unless disturbed too frequently they use the same 

 nest year after year; according to localities these are located 

 on ledges of chffs, high bluffs, or in large trees. The two or 

 three large eggs are handsomely dotted, clouded, blotched 

 or splashed with several shades of brown and often grays. 

 When a nest is approached the owners always leave and are 

 seldom seen again while the intruder is about. They are 

 very shy at all times. 



BALD EAGLES, our National Emblem, are of local 

 occurrence and are resident throughout the greater portion 

 of North America. In their young "black" plumage, which 

 they wear for the first two years, they are often mistaken for 

 the last species; besides lacking the yellowish feathers on the 

 nape, which show in nearly all plumages of the Golden 

 Eagle, their wings are comparatively narrower and the 

 tarsi are not feathered on the lower half. 



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