22 
BIRDS OF PREY. 
plumage, in which state, as described by Brisson, they again 
approach the present species. Nor need it be considered as 
surprising if two different species be confounded in the Sea 
Eagle of Europe, as the recently established Imperial Eagle 
had ever been confounded with the Golden. Another distin- 
guishing trait of the Washington Eagle is in the length of the 
tail, which is one and one half inches longer than the folded 
wings. In the White-tailed species this part never extends 
beyond the wings. 
The White-headed or Bald Eagle. — This noble and daring 
Eagle is found along the sea-coasts, lakes, and rivers through- 
out the northern regions, being met with in Asia, Europe, and 
America, where they extend to the shores of the Pacific, and 
as far as the confines of California. In Behring’s Isle, Mack- 
enzie’s . River, and Greenland, they are not uncommon. But 
while they are confined in the Old World to this cheerless re- 
gion so constantly that only taio instances are known of their 
appearance in the centre of Europe, in the United States they 
are most abundant in the milder latitudes, residing, breeding, 
and rearing their young in all the intermediate space from 
Nova Scotia or Labrador to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. 
The rocky coast of this part of New England (Massachusetts) 
is, however, seldom tenanted by this species, though they are 
occasionally seen in the spring and about the commencement 
of winter. In the United States it is certain that they show a 
decided predilection for the milder climates. It is probable 
that in Europe they are deterred in thfeir migrations by the 
tyrannical persecution of the White-tailed Eagle {F. alhicilld), 
which abounds in that country, living also principally on fish, 
and therefore selecting the same maritime situations as our 
Eagle. In the United States he sways almost without control 
the whole coast of the Atlantic, and has rendered the rival 
Osprey his humble tributary, proscribing, in his turn, the ap- 
pearance of the Sea Eagle, which, if it exist at all with us, is 
equally as rare as the present species appears to be in Europe. 
Though on Behring’s Isle the Bald Eagle is said to nest on 
