OUR HOME BIRDS. 
233 
to see it measuring its tiny form against the power- 
ful weapons of its foe in all the confidence of its in- 
significance. The eagle might as well try to catch a 
sunbeam as a humming-bird ; and the little crea- 
ture knows this well. A pair of humming-birds will 
attack an eagle without the least scruple, and a soli- 
tary ruby-throat has been seen deliberately seated on 
the head of an eagle, pecking out the feathers, so 
that he would soon have deserved the term of ‘ bald- 
head/ and scattering them in a stream behind the 
tormented bird, who, with screams of terror and 
agony, dashed through the air in the vain hope of 
shaking off its puny foe. The sparrow-hawk also 
succeeds in worrying the king of birds, because it is 
quicker on the wing ; so we see that the power of this 
fierce and strong bird is often subdued by very insig- 
nificant antagonists. 
“ The sea-eagle (Fig. 20) is frequently seen in com- 
pany with the bald eagle, whom it very much resem- 
bles, except that there is more white in the plumage. 
It builds its nest on the loftiest oaks or on some 
rocky crag edging a wild and desolate shore ; it is 
very broad and contains two large eggs, that are 
quite round, very heavy, and of a dirty shade of 
white. 
“ A great many eagles are seen in the neighbor- 
hood of Niagara Falls, often in the thick column of 
20 * 
