6 
FOREST AND bTREAM, 
An inimature white-tailed or sea eagle, shot in Brighton, 
weighed lo pounds; another, killed at Arundel, uarelj 
lo pounds, while a fine old bird in fully adult plumage, 
from Stornoway. Lewis, weighed not less than ityi 
potirids. This is the heaviest white-tailed eagle of which 
1 have any note. It has been referred to by Robert Gray 
("Birds of the West of Scotland," p. 17) as being in the 
collection of Sir James Matheson, Bart, of Stornoway, 
and the finest British example of the sea eagle he had ever 
seen. He adds, "compared with three or four other sea 
eagles in the same collection, its size, indeed, appears 
quite extraordinary, and had the specimen been darker in 
color it nnght have readily been mistaken for the northern 
sea eagle of Pallas." 
It might be supposed that the imperial eagle would be 
larger and heavier than the golden eagle, but from actual 
comparison this does not appear to be so. Thus the 
golden eagle measures 3 feet to 3 feet 4 inches in length, 
6 feet 6 inches to 7 feet 6 inches in expanse of wing, and 
weighs from 9 pounds to 12 pounds, while the imperial 
eagle measures only 2 feet 6 inches to 3 feet in length, 
6 feet 4 inches to 7 feet i inch in expanse of wing, and 
weighs on an average from 6 to 8^ pounds. 
As for the lammergeier, it will be found on comparison 
of measurements and weights, that while in expanse of 
wing it measures no more than an adult Griffon vulture 
(8 feet 3 inches to 9 feet 2 inches), its weight may be 
several pounds less. 
Capt. Hutton, writing of the lammergeier as observed 
by him in the Himalayas, remarks: 
"Marvelous indeed are the stories told both by natives 
and Europeans of the destructive habits of this bird, and 
both accounts I fully beheve have scarcely a gram of 
truth in them. All I can positively say upon the point, 
however, is that I have known the bird well in its native 
haunts for thirty years and more, and never once in all 
that time have I seen it stoop to anything but a dead car- 
cass. As to carrying off hens, dogs, lambs or children, I 
say the feat would be utterly impossible, for the creature 
does not possess the strongly curved sharp-pointed claws 
of the eagle, but the far straighter and perfectly blunt 
talons of the vulture." 
Mr. R. Thompson, also, after close and constant obser- 
vation of the habits of the lammergeier for twelve years, 
writes : 
_ "I have never seen them attack or come down to a 
living animal. They have repeatedly sailed past close to 
my nets when I have had live fowls and pigeons picketed 
as lures for hawks and eagles. They have passed within a 
* few feet of these without once showing a desire to pick 
up any of the birds; and this, too, on the tops of high 
mountains in a perfectly wild country, with no human 
inhabitants within miles. On the other hand, they will 
at once come down on a well-cleaned carcass, a heap of 
bones, or the skeletons of smaller mammalia.* There 
must, of course, be some foundation," he adds, "for the 
many statements that have been put forth as to the 
rapacious character of this bird. But this foundation I 
believe to consist in the natives constantly attributing 
the depredations' committed by eagles to the Jaramer- 
geier." 
As to the weight which the larger eagles can carry in 
the shape of prey, the writer last quoted says the golden 
eagle will kill and carry off young deer (i. e., fawns) 
' and kids, as I have myself seen. One, at Strathmore, in 
Caithness, while devouring the carcass of a mountain 
hare, was attacked by a fox; a fight ensued, and after a 
severe struggle, in which the fox got badly torn by the 
eagle's talons, and the bird got severely bitten in the 
breast, the eagle, to save itself, took flight, with the fox 
holding on, until, at a considerable height in the air, the 
latter dropped to the ground and was killed by the falL 
Mr. Robert Gray took pains to verify this story. 
Mr. A. Hume, writing of Pallas' sea eagle, says : 
"A gray goose will weigh on the average 7 pounds 
(much heavier are recorded), but I have repeatedly seen 
good sized gray geese carried off in the claws of one of 
these eagles, the birds flying slowly and low over the sur- 
face of the water, but still quite steadily." 
He once saw an eagle of this species on the River Jumna 
capture a fish so large that the bird only with difficulty 
succeeded in reaching a low sandbank in the river with its 
prey. As it made for this bank it flew so low and with 
such difficulty that the writhing fish in its claws struck 
the water every few yards, and twice seemed likely to pull 
its persecutor under water. On reaching the sandbank 
some 250 yards distant from the observer, a shot from 
his rifle caused it to quit the fish, which was then re- 
covered and found to be a carp {Cyprinus rohita), weigh- 
ing over 13 pounds — that is, considerably heavier than its 
captor. For the reason above given, such a feat would be 
impossible for the lammergeier. 
Come we now to the condor of South America, a bird 
which is known to have a wide geographical range. It is 
found on the west coast from the Strait of Magellan along 
the Cordillera as far as eight degrees north of the equator. 
The steep cliff near the mouth of the Rio Negro is its 
northern limit on the Patagonia coast, and they have there 
wandered about 400 miles from the great central line of 
their habitation in the Andes. Further south, among the 
bold precipices at the head of Port Desire, the condor 
is not uncommon; yet only a few stragglers occasionally 
visit the sea coast. A line of cliff' near the mouth of 
the Santa Cruz, Patagonia, is frequented by these birds, 
and about eighty miles up the river, where the sides of the 
valley are formed by steep basaltic precipices, the condor 
reappears. From these facts, says Darwin, from whom I 
quote ("Naturalist's Voyage Round the World," p. 182), 
it seems that the condors require perpendicular cliffs. In 
Chili they haunt during the greater part of the year the 
lower country near the shores of the Pacific, and at night 
several roost together in one tree; but in the early part 
of summer they retire to the most inaccessible parts of 
the inner Cordillera, there to breed in peace. As re- 
gards the expanse of wing in the condor, there appears to 
be some conflict of testimony, although it may well be 
that the discrepancy in the measurements which have been 
recorded is due to the fact that they were taken from, 
birds of different ages and sexes. Thus, in the journal 
* This does not tjuite accord with remarks of Mr. Abel Chap- 
man, who, in his delightful book "Wild Spain," p. 314, quotes 
Manuel de la Torre, the best field naturalist in Spain, to the effect 
that the lammerpeier takes young lambs and kids, and that he shot 
one in the act of eating a rabbit which he had just seen it kill. 
THE FOLLOWlfSy TABLE WILL EN^JLE A READY COMPAEISON OF THE SPECIES NAMED, 
Name of Species. 
Golden eagle 
Sea eagle 
Imperial eagle (India) 
Imperial eagle (Spain) 
Wedge-tailed eagle (Australia). 
Griffon vulture •. 
Cinereous vulture 
Lammergeier 
Lammergeier 
Condor (Patagonia) 
Condor (Ecuador) 
Condor (Chili) 
Condor (Chili) 
Condor (Chili) 
Bustard (Norfolk) 
Bustard (Seville) 
Bustard (Seville) 
Crane (India) , 
Crane (England) 
Stork 
Heron 
Wild Swan r. 
Albatross ..t. 
Albatross ^ 
Albatross 
Length. 
3ft. to 3ft. 4in 
2ft. 6in. to 2ft. lOin 
2ft. fiin. to 2ft. Sin 
2ft. 6in. to 3ft 
3ft 
3ft. lOin. to 4ft. lin.... 
3ft. 6in. to 3ft. 9in 
3ft Sin. to 4ft. lin 
3ft Sin. to 4ft. lin 
3ft. 6in. (Sharpe)...... 
3ft. 6in 
Not stated 
Not stated 
Not stated 
3ft. 9in 
Expanse of Wing 
3ft. Sin. (Tickell).. 
4ft. (Yarrell) 
.3ft. (iin. to 3ft. Sin. 
3ft 
5ft. (Selhy) 
3ft. lOin 
3ft. lOin 
31t. lUin vJ 
6ft. 6in. to 7ft. 6in....... 
.7ft. to 8ft 
6ft. 4in. to 7ft. lin 
6ft. 3in. to 6ft. lOfn 
6ft. Sin. (Gould) 
8ft. lOin. to 9ft. 2in 
8ft. to 9ft. lOin 
8ft. Sin. to 9ft. 2in ] 
8ft. 6in. to 9ft , 
8ft. 6in. (Darwin) 
10ft. 6in. (Whymper) 
12ft. "many" (Byam) 
13ft. "one" (Byam) 
15ft. "largest" (Byam) 
6ft. 6in .. 
7ft. 3in 
7ft. lin 
6ft. 6in. (Tickell) ".".V 
6ft. 6in - 
Sft. to 9ft 
5ft. to 6ft.-. ■ 
7ft. to Sft. (Selby) 
lift, to 14ft. (Bennett) 
10ft. lOin. (Sanford)... 
lift. 4in. (Green) to 12ft, (Hutton). 
Weighfc 
91bs. to 121bs. 
lOlbs. to leibs. 
61bs. to 81bs. 
81^1 bs. to IQiilbs. 
91bs, (Gould). 
ISlbs. to 201bs. 
141bs. to ISlbs. 
lOlbs. to 161bs. (Chapman). 
Not stated. 
Not stated. 
Not stated. 
Not stated. 
Not stated. 
241bs. (Stevenson), 
261bs. (Nicholson). 
281bs. (Nicholson), 301bs. 
lOlbs. 80Z. (Zool., 1876). 
lOlbs. 13oz. (Stevenson). 
Not stated. 
5V,lbs. (Muirhead). 
ISlbs. to 251bs. 
171bs. (Gould). 
(Chapman). 
above quoted, under date April 27, 1834, at Santa Cruz, 
Patagonia, Darwin writes: "This day I shot a condor. 
It measured from tip to tip of the wings 8^ feet, and 
from beak to tail 4 feet." From measurements supplied 
by others it would appear that this was quite a small one. 
In Ecuador, for example, the largest seen by Mr. Edward 
Whymper measured 10 feet 6 inches from tip to tip of 
extended wings, although he remarked that most of those 
seen at Antisana and elsewhere were not so much as 9 
feet. ("Travels in the Andes.") The experience of Capt. 
George Byam, the author of "Wanderings in Some of the 
Western Republics of America," is instructive on the sub- 
ject of condors. He saw many which measured 12ft. in 
I expanse of wing, and one of 13 feet, while the largest 
out of several which he shot in Chili measured exactly 
15 feet^from tip to tip when pulled out fairly and not too 
hard. "It was," he says, "a very powerful heavy bird, with 
legs almost as thick as my wrist, and the middle claw or 
■ finger, which I kept, was 7 inches in length." Mr. N. E. 
Bieber, writing in the Field of Feb. 11, 1S99, on "Deer 
Shooting in Bolivia," remarks incidentally that a good 
sized male condor will measure 15 feet across the wings, 
thus confirming the observation long previously made by 
Capt. Byam, a good sportsman and accurate writer. 
Dr. Robert Cunningham, in his entertaining volume 
"The Natural History of the Strait of Magellan" (1871), 
describing an exploration of the Patagonia coast between 
Cape Possession and Dungeness Spit, recounts his falling 
in \vith seven or eight condors, one of which he tried in 
vain to stalk. 
"It is," he say.s, "a truly magnificent bird when seen 
in a wild condition and on the wing; and one cannot be 
surprised that the most exaggerated accounts were given 
by the older travelers of the dimensions to which it at- 
tains, as much as 18 feet ha\dng been sometimes assigned 
to the expanse of wing." 
This, of course, is mere guesswork, and not an ascer- 
tained measurement. Some idea of the size of liird may 
be gained from an inspection of its furcula, of which he 
gives a figure (p. 303) from a specimen picked up on the 
beach. 
If weight alone were a criterion of size, the steamer 
duck of the Falkland Islands {Micro pterus cinereus — 
A ncis brachyptera of Latham) would challenge compari- 
son with some of the birds above named. The largest 
obtained by Dr. Cunningham, who gives an excellent ac- 
count of it (op. cit. p. 93), measured ,3 feet 4 inches from 
bill to tail and weighed 13 pounds, while Capt. Cook men- 
tions in his voyage that the weight of one was 29 pounds. 
Capt. Philip King, who observed tliis "gigantic oceanic 
duck" at the Falklands, described it as the largest he 
had ever seen (Voy. "Adventure," i. p. 36), and remarked 
upon the small size of the wings, which, "not having 
sufficient power to raise the body, serve only to propel it 
along rather than through the water, and are used like the 
paddles of a steam vessel. Aided by these and its strong, 
broad-webbed feet, it moves with astonishing rapidity. It 
would not be an exaggeration to state its speed at from 
twelve to fifteen miles an hour. This bird, however, being 
incapable of flight, at all events when fully adult (see 
Newton's "Dictionary of Birds," p. 518). is not com- 
parable with those large pinioned species above mentioned. 
As for the wild swan, which might seem to challenge com- 
parison with them, it may be remarked en passant than 
an adult whooper (Cygnus ferus) will measure 4 feet 10 
inches from tip of bill to end of tail (the long neck 
counting for much), 7 feet in expanse of wing, and will 
weigh from 18 pounds to 25 pounds. Here it will be seen 
that, notwithstanding the enormous weight, the extent of 
wing is no greater than in the golden eagle, much less 
than in the Griffon vulture, cinereous vulture and lam- 
mergeier, and only half that of the condor. 
For our present purpose it remains only to ascertain 
what has been recorded on good authority of the measure- 
ments and weight of the largest species of albatross 
(Diomedea e.vulans). It is found throughout the South- 
ern Ocean, and is seldom met with further north than 
lat. 30° S., although stragglers have from time to time 
been reported as occuring beyond that limit. The litera- 
ture relating to this bird is very extensive, so much so, in- 
deed, that it will be necessary to pass OA^er many facts 
of interest concerning it. in order to confine attention to 
the only two points which have any bearing on the present 
inquirj'-, nameh--, dimensions and weight. 
Here is a good observation of the kind needed by the 
late Dr. George Bennett, of Sydney. In his "Gatherings 
of a Naturalist in Australasia" (i860, p. 72), he writes: 
"On June 8, in lat. 37° 15' S., long. 60° 27' E., we cap- 
tured the unusual number of seven specimens of the 
great wandering albatross. _ They were elegant birds of 
large size, with fine and shining plumage, but were quite 
helpless and stupid when brought on board. The size 
of the largest was as follows : Length from the base of 
the bill to the extremit}' of the tail. 3 feet 10 inches; size 
of the expanded wings, 11 feet 8 inches. In others the 
extended pinions measured from 10 feet 4 inches to 11 
feet; indeed, I consider 11 feet the general measurement. 
I have met with only one specimen in which the spread of 
wings measured 14 feet. The dift'erence of sexes did not, 
in any of these specimens, . make any alteration in size ; 
and although the plumage differed through age, it did 
not afford any sexual distinction." 
Mr. W. A. Sanford, writing of albatrosses seen dur- 
ing a voyage to Australia, and particularly referring to 
those skinned and dissected by himself (Zoologist, 18S9, 
P- 3^7), refharks : 
"I have never measured an albatross which was more 
than II feet in expanse of wing — I think the exact meas- 
urement was 10 feet 10 inches^but I have been confidently 
assured by others that they have measured some as much 
as 14 feet." 
This confirms the above mentioned statement by Dr. 
Bennett. 
Herr Reischek, who visited and described a remarkable 
breeding haunt of the wandering albatross in the Auck- 
land Islands (Trans. N. Z. Inst.. 1889, p. 126, and Zoolo- 
gist, 1889, p. 337), gives the following dimensions of some 
that he measured : Total length from tip of bill to end of 
tail, 3 feet 3 inches; bill, 7 inches; tail, 734 inches; whole 
wing, from 4 feet 10 inches to 5 feet 10 inches; primaries, 
I foot 8 inches; whole leg, i foot 10 inches; tarsus, 4:^2 
inches; middle toe, 7 inches! By the expression "whole 
wing" is evidently intended the length from the body 
(not from the carpal joint) to the end of the longest 
primary, just as the expression "whole leg" includes 
more than the tar.sus. 
Out of more than a hundred specimens of the large 
albatross (D. cxulans) caught and measured by Mr. J. F. 
Green (see his "Ocean Birds," p. 5), the largest was 
II feet 4 inches from tip to tip. This, he says, was con- 
firmed by the experience of a ship's captain, who in forty 
years had never found one over that length. As this bears 
out the observations of Dr. Bennett and Mr. W. A. San- 
ford, we may take it that 11 feet represents the normal ex- 
panse of wing in a fully adult bird. 
In regard to weight, Capt. Hutton indorses the state- 
ment made by Gould that the average weight of the wan- 
dering albatross is 17 pounds. 
The following table will enable a ready comparison of 
the species named : 
From this table it will be seen that, while the heaviest 
bird capable of flight is the bustard, its expanse of wmg, a 
trifle less than that of the wild swan, is 3 feet or 4 feet 
less than that of the famous albatross, and only half that 
of the largest condor on record. It is somewhat curious 
that the Australian bustard, though said to be larger than 
our bird,_ standing higher on its legs, and with longer 
neck, weighs considerably less. Gould, who "frequently 
encountered and killed it hoth on the plains of the Lower 
Namoi and also in South Australia," gives the weight 
of the male bird from 13 pounds to 16 pounds. The great 
bustard of South Africa, the "gompaauw" of the colonists, 
according to Mr. E. L. Layard, weighs from 30 pounds 
to 35 pounds. 
There is not much difference in the dimensions of the 
larger eagles above mentioned, all of which are less than 
those of the largest vultures. The far-famed lammergeier 
does not exceed in size the Griffon vulture, nor does It 
weigh so much by several pounds; while in point of 
size the giant albatross of the Southern Ocean, with an 
average expanse of 11 feet 4 inches, has to yield to the 
condor of Chili, whose extended pinions have in many 
cases measured 12 feet, and in one instance, on good 
authority, the almost incredible width of 15 feet— J. E. 
Harting in London Field. 
Birds in the City, 
New York, Dec. 23. — Editor Forest and Stream: My 
little girl, who is seven years old, handed me yesterday 
the inclosed letter with a request to see if I could have it 
published, so that her little friends could read it. 
As I have been trying to cultivate in her the habit of 
observation, and a love for all out-door life, including 
its fauna and its flora, it occurs to me that perhaps her 
example could be followed by other children, and that 
the publication of this letter might open a way to the 
record oi unusual observation that can be made even in a 
large city. This is what she writes: 
"My papa saw last spring two brown birds in our back 
yard in Eleventh street. New York City. He said they 
were brown thrashers. When the sparrows saw them 
they thought they were going to have a good time by 
chasing away the thrashers, but as soon as the thrashers 
saw them they made a few steps forward and the sparrows 
ran as fast as they could. This fall they came again, and 
the sparrows did the same as before. This time the 
thrashers had another one with them. My papa wonders 
tliat the cats did not get them, for the cats are very 
plentiful in our neighborhood. — ^Helen Hyde. 
"I forgot to say I wonder where the third bird came 
from, whether it was the young one or whether it was 
an old one that the others had told that this was a 
good place to stop. — ^H. H." 
Of course it is needless to point out to you the inference 
that can be drawn, namely, that the sparrows cannot in 
