52 Bird Day Book 



it happens to be very numerous, and evinces a particular fondness 

 for lambs. 



For many reasons it has become almost a fashion among writers 

 to denounce the Bald Eagle, and declare it a shame that such a 

 bird ever was chosen as our national standard-bearer. Some have 

 asserted that the brave and high-minded wild-turkey would have 

 been more appropriate ! 



Against all of this, I have nothing to say. The American Eagle 

 needs no defense from me. Whether 



"He clasps the crag with hooked hands, 

 Close to the sun in lonely lands," 



or perches defiantly on the United States coat-of-arms, with a brow 

 to threaten or command, he is beloved by at least seventy-two mil- 

 lion people who will rise as one whenever he is really in need of 

 defenders. Abroad, it once was well-nigh an international fashion 

 to flout this bird, and the standard he bears ; but since May 1, 1900, 

 that fashion has gone out. Abroad, those who do not respect this 

 bird fear him, wholesomely. At home, it is quite time for all 

 strangers to secure an introduction to him, and for some of those 

 who should be his friends but are not, to write him down no longer. 



— American Natural History. 



