The Bald Eagle Stooping on its Quarry. 1 1 9 



togue or grey-spotted trout (S. confinis) is plentiful. When 

 contemplating the enchanting panorama, I observed four of 

 these eagles circling gracefully over the placid waters, their 

 dark bodies and white extremities showing boldly forth 

 against the deep blue of the heavens. At last one, parting 

 company from the rest, descended to lower levels, and after a 

 gyration or two suddenly turned and sank perpendicularly on 

 the surface, but only for an instant, when it rose again and 

 made shorewards with a fish in its talons, before the others 

 had time to observe its movements. At length one perceiving 

 the successful capture, hesitated for an instant, when with closed 

 wings it stooped grandly some 300 yards in one fell swoop, 

 followed by the remainder, and, although the distance was 

 far, I could hear their wild cries as each contended for the 

 fish, which after all fell into the lake during the melee, 

 and must have escaped, as none of them followed, but, on 

 the contrary, returned to their former outlook, to use 

 Longfellow's words, by " invisible stairs ascending and scaling 

 the heavens." 



The position from whence this scene was witnessed displays 

 in a remarkable manner the so-called "muttoning" and strice 

 caused by ice friction, just as if a glacier from the highlands 

 northwards had passed down the lakes and over the Shamcook 

 hill down into the bay ; indeed, along all the river valleys 

 opening into the Bay of Fundy precisely the same pheno- 

 mena are visible, showing, as I shall notice elsewhere, that 

 in all probability a vast sheet of land-ice once covered the 

 area, and moved steadily, or pretty much so, from north to 

 south.* 



The birds of boreal Europe and America are, perhaps, more 

 closely allied than many naturalists suppose. If we eliminate 

 the absolutely identical, and those which differ from each other 

 to a very small extent, there remain but only a few peculiar to 



* See Hind, Dawson, and Bailey : especially the Report of Mr. Hind, 

 p. 190. 



