OF NEW ENGLAND. 369 
might well take one’s breath away. In his fall he disappeared 
behind some woods, and I did not see him again. The keen- 
ness of vision which this species must possess is wonderful, 
but at how great a height they can distinctly perceive their 
prey is uncertain. I have seen one sail at some distance above 
the peak of Mount Lafayette, at least a mile above the sea- 
level, and, on crossing a valley beneath, suddenly descend, as 
if his attention had been attracted by an object four thousand 
feet beneath. Could man from the top of a monument twenty 
times as high as that of Bunker Hill distinctly see a cat di- 
rectly beneath, or a fawn at the distance of two or three miles, 
even if not running through grass or woods? Yet man might 
distinctly see and recognize a tolerably small quadruped at the 
distance of a mile in a clear, level space, whence it seems 
possible that the powers of horizontal and perpendicular vision 
are somewhat distinct, even when the same surface of a body 
is seen. Audubon says of these birds that ‘* young fawns, 
racoons,' hares, wild turkeys, and other large birds, are their 
usual food, and they devour putrid flesh only when hard pressed 
by hunger, none alighting on carrion at any other time.” 
(d). The screams of the Golden Eagle are loud, harsh, and 
rather savage, “resembling at times,’ says Audubon, “ the 
barking of a dog, especially about the breeding season, when 
they become extremely noisy and turbulent, * * * .” 
VIII. HALIAETUS 
(A) LeucocrerHaLus. “ Bald” Eagle. White-headed Eagle. 
“ Bird of Washington.” 
(In some parts of New England not uncommon.) 
(a). 80-40 inches long. Tarsus naked. Dark brown. Head, 
tail, and tail-coverts, white. Young with little or no white. 
(5). The nest is much like that of the Fish Hawk in every 
respect. It is often, however, ‘‘ partly composed of sods, and 
is commonly built in the top of a dead tree.” The eggs, most 
often two in number, are laid in the early part of spring, or 
even in winter. They are nearly three inches long, or more, 
and are impure white or yellowish. 
25 
