THE, OR BIG ON. SPORTS MAN 173 
people who daily see our 
national emblem on the coins 
and arms of our country, few 
know anything of the eagle as 
a bird. Few know of the home 
life and habits. Fewer, still, 
have ever seen an eagle wild 
and free. 
In North America, we have 
two eagles that are of general 
distribution, the bald_ eagle, 
found in the wilder places 
throughout the United States, 
and the golden eagle, now re- 
stricted almost entirely to the 
mountainous regions of the West. 
The term ‘‘bald’’ originated 
from the white head, which is 
an unmistakable mark of iden- 
tity of the fullgrown bird and 
at a distance gives the im- 
pression of baldness. The bald A Young Golden Eagle Resisting the 
eagle is much the same general Camera-Man 
color as the golden eagle up to 
the time it is three years old. In the time of Audubon, these young 
bald eagles were considered a separate species. At the age of three 
years, the bald eagle attains maturity and the white feathers appear 
on the head and neck. To distinguish one species from the other, look 
at the lowest joint of the leg. If this is covered with feathers down 


Two Downy Golden Eagles One Month Old 
to the toes, it is a golden eagle; if the leg is naked, it is a bald 
eagle. 
In some ways, the golden eagle is a nobler bird than his white- 
headed cousin. The bald eagle is a resident along the big rivers, on 
the shores of lakes and on the islands of the sea. Its favorite food 
is fish. It often catches these, or compels an osprey to pay tribute. 
