258 
WILD SCENES AND SONG BIRDS. 
wings to conquest. He has found, too, tliat in clioice of lo- 
calities, its individualities are strongly expressed. 
Its home is among the mountains, and it loveth most "the 
shadow of a great rock;" not in the United States only, but 
over nearly the whole world its occasional presence makes a 
feature of the most savage desolations. It builds its great 
nest of heaped-up boughs and brambles high upon the inac- 
cessible crag-side, overlooking some wide valley, and perched 
upon the pinnacle-rocks above, its wonderful eye glancing 
over all beneath detects its prey at immense distances. This 
keenness of vision compensates beautifully for the want of 
sufficient power of flight to enable it, like the White-headed 
Eagles, or even falcons, to overtake its prey on the wing by 
sheer speed. It takes advantage of the momentum gained 
by a descent through the air. 
Selecting habitually a lofty perch, or sailing slowly at a 
gi'eat height among the clouds, this power of sight reveals to 
it even the small objects below. When the lamb, the fawn, 
the hare, or Avild tu.rkey appears, one of these, it pauses in 
its flight, immediately over for an instant, seemingly to 
steady its unerring aim, and then with wings half closed and 
outspread tail, falls with the swiftness of a meteor upon the 
victim. 
Now let us see in direct contrast with much of this, the 
habits of the White-headed Eagle, which the naturalist has 
found to be a low-land bird, in choice of localities, though 
the loftiest-flighted hunter that wears wings. It loves rather 
the valleys along the courses of our great rivers, the shores 
of lakes, estuaries and the sea. Its nest is on some lofty tree, 
instead of a mountain crag. It pursues its prey up and 
through the air instead of descending upon it. In the daring 
confidence of its unequalled flight, it asserts sole empire in 
that element, overtaking all or any of its denizens with ease. 
A characteristic scene is thus described in the Biography 
of Birds. Audubon, the Art-Naturalist, says : " Permit me 
to place you on the Mississippi, on which you may float 
