BIRDS OF PREY 
White Rough-legged Hawk 
Range.- — North America, west of the Mississippi, breeding from the latitude 
of Colorado north to the Saskatchewan region. 
This species nests very abundantly along our northern states, particularly in 
Dakota. It is a larger bird than the preceding and can easily be told by its 
reddish coloration, particularly on the shoulders and tibia. While in some 
localities they nest only in trees, the greater number appear to build their nests 
on the ground or rocky ledges, making a large heap of sticks, weeds and grass. 
Their three or four eggs are white, beautifully spotted and blotched, in endless 
variety, with various shades of brown. Size 2.60 x 2.00. Data. — Stark Co., N. 
D., April 29, 1900. Nest built of coarse sticks on a clay butte. 
349. Golden Eagle. Aquila cliryscctos. 
Golden Eagle 
Range. — North America, west of the Missis- 
sippi; most abundant in the Rockies and along 
the Pacific coast ranges. 
This magnificent bird, which is even more 
powerful than the Bald Eagle, measures about 
34 inches long, and spreads about 7 feet. Its 
plumage is a rich brownish black, very old 
birds being golden brown on the nape. They 
can be distinguished in all plumages from the 
Bald Eagle by the completely feathered tarsus. 
They build their nests in the tops of the tallest 
trees in the wild, mountainous country of the 
west, and more rarely upon ledges of the cliffs. 
The nests are made of large sticks, lined with 
smaller ones and leaves and weeds. Their eggs 
are the most handsome of the Raptores, being 
white in color, and blotched, splashed, spotted 
and specked with light brown and clouded with 
gray or lilac, of course varying endlessly in 
pattern and intensity. Size 2.90 x 2.50. Data. 
— Monterey Co., Cal., May 3, 1888. Three eggs. 
Nest of sticks, lined with pine needles, in a 
pine tree, 50 feet up. 
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