the female, which singularly enough is the larger and stronger 
of the two, comes and alights upon a higher branch of the 
same tree. They arc so near us that we can easily distinguish 
every movement. The male bird, holding the fish within the 
grasp of his powerful claws, strikes it a blow with his strong 
hooked bill that severs the head from the vertebrae, and then 
begins to feast ou its quivering flesh ; beginning by tearing 
out the entrails and swallowing them, smearing the beautiful 
white feathers of his head with blood and 01th ; he then tears 
into shreds and swullows the remainder, till all is disposed of ; 
the female all the while leaning low down on her perch to- 
ward her lord, and uttering that loud, laughing cry. 
See in the far distance, a pair of eagles soaring and wheel- 
ing high over the Hudson. Have they just descended from 
their night's resting-place in that deep, heavily- wooded 
ravine under the summit of Cro’Nest? No. They are the 
same that we scared from their perches on these trees. See 
their graceful aerial evolutions as they rise against the wind 
and soar in wide circles, their snowy heads and tails alternate- 
ly glistening in the sunlight with dazzling brilliancy. Now 
they are flying toward the covo with powerful wing-strokes. 
See! the female poises in the air, then, closing her wings, she 
plunges headlong with fearful velocity toward the river, where 
a crow is struggling with a fish that it has succeeded in cap- 
turing through a Assure in the ice. She will he dashed iu 
pieces upon the ice— hut no ! spreading her broad wings just 
as she nears the icc, she protrudes her robust feet, and, grasp- 
ing her prey, bears it upward, rising ns light as a balloon. It 
was all done so suddenly that we could scaroely realize the 
Bplendid spectacle we have witnessed did we not see the fish 
struggling in the cruel talons of the bird. Now she bears her 
booty straight toward our ambush. A moment more and she 
settles upon the top of the highest hemlock. A moment 
elapses. Then the loud, ringing report of the heavily-loaded 
shot-gun awukens the echoes. It is followed by the crashing 
of branches and the Bound of a heavy body striking the ground 
on the hillside below us. A minute after a shrill scream an- 
nounces the presence of the other bird ; nnd, looking upward, 
he is seen suspended iu air with tail depressed and vibrating, 
neck arched and looking down, trembling ull over with fierce 
rage. Another loud report— a shriek— a crash— and we at- 
tempt to rush out from our cover, but find ourselves so be- 
numbed by the cold wind that we can scarcely stir ; for, in- 
deed, it was only with the greatest difficulty that our numb 
fiugers could press the triggers of our pieces. Stumbling nnd 
rolling down the frozen banks, we reneb the path, where a 
good run again sets the blood into circulation. We return, 
warm, to the scene of our triumph, aud find one of the birds 
quite lifeless, but the other one is only winged. What shall 
we do with it? Wc have decided not to kill it, but keep it alive 
—a glorious trophy. How can wc capture the fierce creature 
without doing ourselves injury ? Leave this matter with me, 
if you please. 1 have cut a long stick with a fork at the end 
of it; have taken the strap from my basket, aDd, holding it 
with my teeth, take off my pea-jacket and spread it open on 
the ground. As wc approach the fierce bird it comes jump- 
ing toward us, making great leaps. When I oppose its pro- 
gress with the crotched stick it throws itself upon its back 
with its white tail beneath it, arches its neck, with the feathers 
of its head alternately erected nnd depressed, as if with the 
breathing of intense rage. Drawing up its powerful claws, it 
prepares to defend itself to the end. And when shall I ever 
forget the sinister expression of those eyes, rendered stern 
even when iu repose by the overarching brows. I now hold 
its head securely with the forked stick, then, seizing both of 
its enormously developed, muscular legs simultaneously, I 
strap them securely together and then place it on the coat, 
buttoning it tight across its broad, heaving chest, thus effec- 
tually preventing the possibility of being struck by its wings. 
Being thus securely fettered, wc can carry our living prize 
quite nicely in our arms, excepting an occasional nip, when 
we carelessly allow the hand to couie too near the creature’s 
hill, when grasping a sapling to aid iu climbing the steep 
bank. 
Duriug all this time many eagles are seen flying overhead, 
screaming, hut we heed them not, for we are already quite 
satisfied with the result of our expedition. Besides, it 1ms 
not been without some feelings of regret that we viewed the 
destruction of those two splendid birds. Then came the reflec- 
tion that, perhaps, for scores of years this pair has made this 
locality a slopping-place ou their migratory journeys from 
the balmy Sout h to the bleak and desolate region of the far 
North ; that for rnauy years, perhaps a long life-time, they 
have annually reared their young in their bulky nests on some 
giant cypress tree in the Southern States— perhaps in Texas 
or Florida— where they deposit their eggs as enrly as the 
second week in January, so that they have already discharged 
their parental duties, aud reached us by the early part of 
March. 
That the eagles are migratory is shown by the fact that they 
are comparatively rare during the winter, but suddenly ap- 
pear in large numbers during the latter part of February or 
early in March— generally at the time the river opens, afford- 
ing to them the means of subsistence— at the season wheu 
those of the species that breed in this latitude would he occu- 
pied by the duties of incubation, or rearing their young, hence 
il is inferable that the eagles that are with us at this season 
have reared their youug earlier iu the season in the far South. 
The white-headed, or "American eagles,” called by various 
names (frequently " bald eagles"), inhabit the whole length 
and breadth of North America, and arc sometimes take-in 
Greenland, while stragglers are said to have been enptured in 
Europe. They breed nearly throughout their whole range. 
Let us now examine our prizes more closely. The head, 
n»ck, upper and under-tail coverts and tail are white, immacu- 
late ; the rest of the plumage brownish black, lightest on the 
edges of the feathers, with purplish golden gloss; the primaries 
are black, the hill cere, legs and feet deep yellow ; iris Naples 
yellow. The male nnd female are precisely alike in color. 
The female has au expanse of wiugs of nearly eight feet. Its 
weight is about twelve pounds. The male measures and 
weighs considerably less. 
These eagles pass through several successive stages of 
plumage, and several years are required before they assume 
their full Jress, with white bend and tail. This fact bus led un- 
scientific persons to imagine that there i* more tliun one species 
of sea eagle iu the United States, which, however, is not the fact, 
though the difference in color during the first three years 
might easily deceive persons not ornithological. During the 
first year they are nearly black all over, except below, where 
the basal white of the feathers is somewhat exposed, produc- 
ing a spotted appearance. After this, in the second year, 
they become light gray. Unscientific persons distinguish the 
three plumages as the “bald,” “big gray,” and “black 
eagles.” 
There ore but two species of eagles found within the United 
Btates— the white-headed aca eagle (Ualiaetua leucocephalua ) 
forest and stream. 
463 
and the golden eagle ( Aquila chryaoetua).* Both of theso 
occur here in the Highlaudsf. They may be easily separated 
by their generic characters. “ In anv plumage they may he 
instantly distinguished by the legs, 'feathered to the toes in 
Aqmla chrymaua, nuked on the whole shank in Bolioetua 
lcucuc*phalua."l 
We reach our boat after a pretty hard climb. Finish- 
ing our lunch, wc once more launch out among the ioe- 
cakts; hut rowing is pleasant after silting cramped and cold 
for many hours. Wc are passing West Point ; there, between 
the Hiding Academy and Battery Knox is “ Kosciuszko's 
Garden, ’ a favorite spot with tho eagles. There, in de- 
fiance of guurds with loaded rifles, I have hunted the eagles 
that frequent the place during winter, and have learned many 
curious and interesting tbiugs about their habits. If at night- 
fid! 1 hud been unsuccessful, 1 had only to remove one of the 
white wooden stoppers which gag the mouths of the canuon 
in HnlHry Knox, and upon which is inscribed the legend, 
lO-mch. gun,” the size of calibre, and thrust in my trusty 
double, then replacing the stopper, it wus sareand dry until 
again wanted, accidents excepted. But onee it barely missed 
destruction, on the occasiou of a salute being fired from the 
battery on the 22d February iu honor of the “ Father of his 
Country." 
When we have reached home we will sit long at table and 
recount the pleasant occurrences of the day, aud of other days 
likewise pleasantly employed, aurl then, us our eyelids grow 
heavy, as eyelids invariably do after a long day of exertion in 
the wind, we will wish each other u kind good night, and retire 
to rest, mutually agreeing that it has beeu a very pleasant day, 
and planuiDg others similarly happy for (lie future. 
Highland Falla , N. Y. 
BREEDING OF THE PINE LINNET IN 
NORTHERN NEW YORK. 
11Y O. 11 ART ilBllBIAM. 
Chrysomitria pinua— Pine Linnet, Pine Finch.— Few birds 
pauy him on an excursion through tho densely timbered 
region about Otter Creek (near the eastern border of Lewis 
County) and Big Otter Luke (Herkimer County), from which 
it takes its origin. This entire district lies within the area 
commonly known us “ Brown's Tract," and is Canadian in 
fauna. Never before at any locality have I seen n species of 
itird represented by such immense Lumbers of individuals us 
here attested the abundance of the pine finch. In every part 
Of the forest, from early morning til! after the sun had disap- 
peared in tho west, there was not a moment that their voices 
were not heard among the pines and - spruce trees overhead. 
And yet, though among them several days, we were not able 
to discover a single nest. Nuver have 1 searched more fuith- 
5 ’*lly ror tbo eggs of any species, ami never hits my diligence 
beeu rewarded with less success. I at first made a systematic 
survey of ft large number of trees, taking a limb at a time, 
and then climbed so many that I was barely able to gel hack 
hut with no better results. 
I heir nests are placed so high and amidst such thick ever- 
green foliuge that it is almost impossible to find them. As il- 
lustrating the number of this species ns well as of the reed 
anil white-winged cross-bills (Lo.w'u curviroatra vur. Atneii- 
runa and I.. leucoptcra), it mny he worth recording that after 
mug twenty-two small charges <>f fine dust shot at the cross- 
bills as they settled into the top of a single dead hemlock I 
picked up fifty-one birds, of which twenty-eight were red 
cross-bills, eight white-winged, aud fifteen pine linnets I 
ninicd at cross-bills only, killing tho linneis by chance. Mr. 
A. J. Dayan was so forlunutu ns to secure two sets of their 
eggs from among the pines near Lyon's Falls (in the Black 
Kiver Valley). The first nest was completed March 11, ami 
contained hut three eggs on tho 18 th. The second contained 
two fresh eggs April ”0 aud was left till the Doth, hut no 
more were deposited. 
— -«■ — 
AHHIYAIS at tiik Piiii.adki.piua Zooi.oiiicai. Oaiiiiknf roil Wrkk 
KxdINU TOR' day, July 9.— Ouo plGd-blUol Rr olio, I'odilymljwi yrtHti. 
presented ; odd Jolly Hull, prosonted; one woodcock, rhitohda 
minor, present. 'il ; nvo garter snakes, l.\ „irt.ilii, presented ; one mink 
l‘utoriu4 viton, presented. 
tire more erratic in their habits than the siskin or pine linnet. 
Occurring to-duy, perhaps, in such numbers that one soon 
tires of shooting them, they are gone on tho morrow, and 
ifcnnql. 
years may elapse before one is seen again. There is, in their 
melancholy che a, uttered at intervals as small flocks pass in 
short, waving swoops, far overhead, something sadly suggest- 
ive of the cold bleak winds that sweep their northern homes. 
Yet they are warmly clad, and seem rather to enjoy the 
wintry blasts that compel most birds to seek a milder clime ; 
and their roaming movements are apparently governed more 
by some idiosyncracy in their roving dispositions, and abund- 
ance or scarcity of food, than by the severity of the season in 
the region from which they came. 
Duriug the past winter and spring they literally swarmed 
in Lewis County, N. Y., and thousands of them bred 
throughout the heavy evergreen forests east of Black River, 
while many scattered pairs nested in suitable hemlock and 
balsam swamps in the middle district. They breed remarka- 
bly early, and construct large, compact nests, which are 
usually placed high up on some hemlock or spruce, and well 
concealed from view. I know of no nest, of equal size, so 
hard to find. After days of patient search in the evergreen 
swamps of this vicinity (Locust Grove), Mr. Bagg and myself 
discovered hut a single nest. On the 13th of April we were 
hunting iu a low swamp, near White River, when a solitary 
pine linnet attracted our attention by hopping about on some 
fallen logs. In a few moments shetlew iuto a large hemlock, 
which stood upartfroin the rest, and immediately disappeared! 
After carefully looking over the entire tree, a limb at a time, 
Mr. Bagg noi iced a hunch of something almost completely 
concealed by a cluster of smull branches. We were not sure 
that it was a nest at ail till a well-aimed stick drove off the 
parent bird, which was shot aDd proved to be the female. 
vVith great dilllcully the nest was secured, and it contained, 
at that early date (April 13), two nearly fledged young. It 
was tightly saddled on a largo limb, about thirty feet from the 
ground and nearly fifteen feet from the trunk of the tree, and 
was so nicely hiddeu that, from a limb directly above, I could 
not see it at all. One of the young wus skinned, while the 
other uuw constitutes a contented member of my sister’s 
“ happy family,” which previously consisted of an oriole (/c- 
U-rua baUimore), three thistle birds (Uhrysmniliia trUtia) and 
a nonpareil (Vyanoepiza ciria). He attained his full growth 
shortly after his capture, and has since thrived on a mixed 
diet, though, like his cousins the goldfinches, showing u de- 
cided prelerence for the thickly-seeded spikes of the common 
plantain ( Plantaqo major). Also, like his brightcr-phimoged 
companions, he constantly raises aud lowers the occipital 
feathers when at all alarmed. 
In plumuge he differs from the adult bird, in having the 
belly marked with yellow, the wing-hars ochraceous instead 
of whitish, and the upper parts decidedly tinged with rufus. 
This ruins oust is duo to the lact that the durk-ceutred 
feathers of the hack are, in the youug, margined with fulvous- 
brown, which is not the case with the old bird. The nest is 
a very bulky structure for so small a bird, and its rough exte- 
rior, loosely builtof liemlocktwigs, with a few sprigs of pigeon 
moss ( Polytrichum) iuterspersed, is irregular in outline, and 
measures about six inches in diameter. The interior, on ihe con- 
trary, is compactly woven iuto a sort of felt, the chief ingredi- 
ents of which are thistledown und the fur und hair of various 
mammals. One cavity is lined with horsehair, anil measures 
two inches and a quarter in diameter by au inch and a quarter 
in depth. This uest is much more flat’ than that described by 
Dr. Brewer^ from Cambridge, Mass., for it measures but two 
inches iu height at its highest point. A considerable mass of 
dung adheres to the small twigs at one point in its exterior, 
showing that the bird always •* headed " the same way, and 
was not particularly cleanly in her habits. From the size of 
the youug it is clear that this nest could not have been com- 
pleted much later tliau the middle of March. 
Not coutcut to let the season pass without making a greater 
effort to secure their eggs, I accepted, ou the loth of April, 
an invitation from my brother, C. Collins Merriam, to uccom- 
♦ As no specimens of Audubon 1 # tlalinrlwi H'a*h(rujUmtt have tinea 
taken by oilier naturalists, and as Ills type specimens do not s- em lo 
have been preserved, the species lia< been abandoned by inoit ornltuolo- 
giaU. However, U may yet bo brought to llghr. 
t For «u account of “ Tho Qoldcu Hagle In tin’ Hudson lllghlauds ” 
sec bulletin of tno Nuttall urulthologtcal club, Yul. HI., No. a, p, nm 
Apt 11, ISIS. ’ 
J Dr. Elliot Coues’ “ Birds of the Northwest,” p. 370, 1S74, 
71 Baird, Brewer and Ridgeway, Vol. I, p. 483, 1874, 
l o COHKKKivNUKNTn.— Those doming us to prosurliic for their dog# 
•vlil plcuco lake note of and desc.rlbu tlio following poiut# Iu meli ani- 
mal: 
I. Ago. 9. Food and medicine given. 3. Appearance of the o/c; 
of the coat ; of the tongue aud lips. 4. Any change# Iu tho appearance 
of the body, a# bloating, drawing in »f tho Hank*, etc. r., Hnumnng ; 
the number of respiration# per minute, and whether labored or not. 
n. Condition of ibo bowels and imcrction# of Hie kidneys, color, etc. 7. 
Appetite; regular, variable, etc. S. Toniporuluro of the body as Indl 
cated by tho bulb of tho thermometer whoa placed botwoou the body 
and the foreleg. B. Give position of konuol and Hurroandlng#, outlook, 
contiguity to other buildings, and tho usoa ot tho latter. Also glvo any 
peculiarities of temperament, movements, etc., that may bo uoiUed, 
sign of sudcrlug, eto. 
Will tiik Fbmai.k ok tub Doo Woiiby Sheri 1 ?— In our 
issue of Juno 0 wo published an abstract of u paper on tho 
dog, read by Dr. Alexander Hadden before tlio American In- 
stitute. Perhaps, of the many papers taken from us, none 
was more universally copied. Tho question of whether the 
female of the dog was given to worrying sheep has been quite 
disputed. Wc addressed Dr. Iluddon, und have boon favored 
by the following reply : 
Editor Forest and Stream : In reply to your note of Juno 
asking for the statistics which fortified the assertion iu my 
article ou the dog, that tho female canine was not given to 
raiding on flocks of sheep unless in liei wild state, I can only 
say that I have not been able to find any woll-nutlienticatcd 
instance or charge of the kind against her, notwithstanding I 
have made diligent search for the same during the lust four 
years. I am, very truly yours, 
Few York, July 10, 1378. Ai.bxandku IIaldbn, M. I). 
. — 
Gun-Shy Dons.— I give some of my experience with guu- 
shy animals and the way I cured them. I wish to .«tuto that 
if a dog be healthy and not too far advanced in age, he cun 
almost invariably be cured. But before we cure him we must 
proceed to find out what first caused him to become gun-shy, 
and remove it. The cauBO being on co removed, tho effect 
will, in time and by judicious treatment, gradually cense. 
The first gun shy clog I lmd wus made so by his silting down, 
one glorious Fourth, on n firecracker just before it went off. 
I was present at the time and wus puzzled to tell which went 
off first, Carlo or the firecracker. His, however wus not u 
very had case : he wouldn't run at the discharge of a gun, but 
would get sulky and heel up, and you couldn't get him to 
" bie on ” again for an hour unless some Mollic Cottontail 
would challenge him to a foot race. I first undertook to show 
him that it wasn't a necessary conclusion that he should he 
blown up every time lie heard an explosion, which I did by 
means of a box of caps exploded iu a room with him Just as 
fust as I could put them on the nipples. He was terribly 
frightened ut first, hut soon quieted down and seemed to get 
used to it, finally yawniDg and looking ut mo as much as to 
say that it was becoming monotonous. That done, I took 
him out, aud the first thing I saw was Carlo scooting over the 
field hack of me after a young hare. I shot it in front of his 
nose, so that when Mollic tumbled Curio dittoed, rolling over 
aud over. Recovering bis feet uud the bare, lie proceeded to 
mouth it to his great satisfaction, which I let him do to his 
heart'6 content, lie was never gun-shy again ; in fact, when 
he heard tho gun go off ho invariably went off too— to find 
the bird which, from that day to tlio day of h s death, he con- 
sidered bis solemn duty to pulverize to the greatest extent of 
Ills capabilities in spite of the sole-leather admonition he wus 
continually receiving. This I consider an almost infallible 
cure for a gun-shy animul ; hut the trouble is that, although it 
betters him in one respect, it is very apt to spoil him in 
another, as evinced above. Carlo now fills the grave of a 
martyr. He died in terrible agony, a victim to strychnine 
and malice. Lately I’ve lmd another dog get gun-shy oa my 
bunds. I was teaching him to drop to shot by cracking cups 
and crying Charge, "in a deep, tragical voice." Of course, 
when I took him out he put his helm hard down and started 
for home at the first sound of the gun. First I removed the 
cause of his fright as much as I could by cracking caps us be- 
fore aud leaving out the " deep, tragical voice.” He didn’t 
get over it very fast, so I resolved on extreme measures. 1 
let him alone lor a week or so aud then took him to u pigeon 
shooliug match. In the excitement of seeing the birds (lying 
