136 
FALCONIFORMES 
autumn and winter. It is a far more spirited and noble bird than the 
more common Bald Eagle, being a less habitual carrion feeder than that 
species, and capturing more of its prey by strength and pursuit. 
Except in the mountains of British Columbia, or the prairies in autumn, 
the Golden Eagle is a rare sight in Canada, and the majority of the popular 
reports of the species are based on the juvenile Bald Eagle. Its principal 
food is the big mountain marmot, but many a foolish Blue Grouse, nesting 
out on the bare mountain shoulders, is picked up by it, and its attacks on 
the lambs of mountain sheep, or the kids of the mountain goat, are not few 
or bootless. Probably if the mother is at hand, the bold raider is usually 
beaten off, but its assault is so sudden and unexpected that often the 
bleating prey is seized before maternal assistance can prevent. The charge 
has been made, and with considerable evidence in support, that this bird 
and the mountain lion are the two serious enemies of these alpine animals. 
How serious the depredations are remains to be demonstrated, but away 
from the immediate neighbourhood of high mountains little objection 
can be taken to the species. Even in the mountains, the damage it does 
can be easily overestimated, as marmots, rabbits, and gophers are un- 
doubtedly its staple food, the other supplies being probably the result 
of hoped-for opportunity rather than habitual seeking. On the prairie 
sloughs it pursues ducks to some extent, but is a most persistent hunter of 
jack rabbits. Stories of children having been carried off, or other similar 
popular tales, are to be largely discounted. Such things may possibly have 
occurred, but are too extraordinary and most accounts too poorly sub- 
stantiated to be regarded without suspicion. On the whole, except where 
special interests and conditions prevail, the Golden Eagle is a harmless and 
picturesque feature of the landscape. 
351. Gray Sea Eagle, la pygargite ordinaire (l’Aigle gris). Hnliaeelus albicilkt. 
L, 35. Much like the Bald Eagle, with white tail when adult but with head and neck 
greyish, blending into the body colour instead of being sharply defined white. 
Distinctions. The adult is like the Bald Eagle except for differences indicated above. 
Juveniles are more striped below than in that species, but the distinctions are so fine that 
careful comparison and good judgment are essential to identify with certainty. 
Distribution. Northern parts of eastern hemisphere and southwestern Greenland. 
It has been reported from Cumberland Sound, eastern Baffin Island, on uncertain evidence. 
352. Bald Eagle. American eagle, l’aigle k t&te blanche. Haliaeetus leuco- 
cephalus. L, 33. Adult; a large, dark brown (nearly black) eagle with white head and 
tail. Juvenile: all dark brown. Tarsus bright yellow, bare for half its length (Figure 200 ). 
Distinctions. The adult Bald Eagle, with its conspicuous white head, neck, and tail 
is too distinctive to be mistaken. The juvenile is so like the Golden that it has often been 
confused with it. It never has the golden 
ochraceous hindnerk. The tail lightens towards 
the base with age, but always gradually, and 
never shows a definite tail bar as does the young 
Golden Eagle. The final distinction is the 
feathering of the tarsus which is bare for half 
its length instead of being feathered to the base 
of the toe (Compare with Figure 196). 
Field Marks. The adult with white head 
and tail is unmistakable (Figure 201). The 
juvenile is very similar to the Golden Eagle. 
It does not show a white spot at base of the 
primaries on the spread wing, but the under surface is largely greyish towards the body. 
The tail may lighten from the tip towards the base, but gradually, and never so as to 
show a definite terminal bar (Figure 202, compare with Figures 198, 199). 
Figure 200 
Bare tarsus of Bald Eagle; scale, 
