BIRDS. RAPACIOUS. Eagles. 483 



fomewhat horny at the edges, and fcarcely fplit at the point ; the noftrils are large, egg-fhaped, hav- 

 ing fome black briftles placed near them ; the irides are hoary, mixed with yellow ; the fore-head is 

 marked with brown femilunar fpots ; the thighs are fliort, and covered with foft feathers, the fore 

 part of the legs and feet being fomewhat downy, and haying black claws -, the tail is reddifh brown 

 above, and dirty white below, having fix narrow black ftripes on each furface. 



38 5. Bald Eagle — 13. F. Aquila kucocephala. 3. 



The bill, cere, and fomewhat downy legs, are yellow; the body is brown ; the head, 

 neck, and tail, are white. 



Falco leucocephalus. Syft. nat. ed. Gm. i. 255. n. 3. Lath. ind. orn. i. 11. n. 5. Ger. orn. 

 i. 40. t. viii. — Aquila leucocephalos. Briff. av. i. 423. — Pygargue. Buff. oif. i. 99. PI. enl. 41 1. — 

 White-headed Eagle. Penn. arch zool. ii. 196. n. 89. — Bald Eagle. Lath. fyn. i. 29. fup. 9. 

 Catefb. carol, i. t. 1. 



Inhabits the northern parts of Europe, Ada, and America. — This fpecies is about three feet three 

 inches long, weighing nine pounds, and, though fmall, has great fpirit ; it builds in large decayed cy- 

 prefs or pine trees which hang over the fea, fometimes, as in Beerings ifle, on cliffs near the fhore ; 

 it preys on lambs, fawns, pigs, and fifh, which laft it often takes from the Ofprey, purfuing that bird, 

 when it has caught a fifh, till it drops its prey, which it catches with aftonilhing dexterity in the air 

 while falling ; and often attends fowlers and feizes the game they have fhot : The neft is very lar<*e, 

 near fix feet wide, often very numerous in one place, like a rookery, and extremely fetid from the 

 remains of the prey ; they breed often, laying two eggs at a time, and fometimes lay a fecond time 

 in the fame neft before the firft brood is fully fledged. The colour of the body is a dark chocolate 

 brown, with white head, neck, and tail ; the bill is yellow, and the irides white. 



39 6. Ofprey. — 14. F. Aquila Ojjifraga. 4. 



The bill is bluifh ; the cere and half downy legs are yellow ; the body is rufty brown ; 

 the inner edges of the tail quills are white. 



Falco Offifragus. Syft. nat. ed. Gm. i. 255. n. 4. Lath. ind. orn. i. 12. n. 7. Muller, n. 60. 

 Borowfk. nat. ii. 69. n. 4. — Aquila Offifraga. Briff. orn. i. 125. n. 9. Klein, av. 41. n. 5. — Aqui- 

 la marina, Cetti, uc. fard. 28. — Offifraga. Gefn. av. 263. Aldr. orn. i. 222. t.p. 225. 228. Brunn. 

 orn. 13. — Haliaetus, f. Offifraga. Raj. av. 7. n. 3.— Orfraye, Orfraie, Offifrague, or Grand Aigle 

 ( de mer. Buff. oif. i. 112. t. 3-. pi. enl. n. 112. 415. — Ofprey or Sea Eagle. Will. orn. angl. 59. t. 1. 

 Brit. zool. i. n. 44. t. 17. Ardt. zool. ii. 194. n. 86. Lath. fyn. i. 30. n. 4. fup. 9. Lewin, brit. 

 birds, i. t. 1. 



Inhabits the fea coafts of Europe, Alia, and America. — This fpecies is about the fize of a Turkey, 

 being about three feet four inches long, but is larger confiderably in America and northern Alia than 

 in Europe ; it lives almoft entirely by catching fifh, but fometimes preys on fea-fowl, land birds, and 

 young feals ; the plumage on the head, neck, and back, is brown edged with dirty white ; the chin 

 is white ; the coverts of the wings are brown clouded with darker; the wing quill feathers are black- 

 ish 5 the breaft and belly are brown, fpotted with white ; the tail is dufky, the interior edges of its 

 quill feathers, the lhafts, and the coverts being white ; the legs are yellow, and have hardly any 



down 



