WASHINGTON EAGLE. 
71 
inner vanes, very broad and firm ; the outer 2J inches shorter than 
the 2d, the longest 24 inches to its roots, and about J an inch in 
diameter at the barrel. [In Mr. Pickering’s specimen, the longest 
quill gave 25J inches, and in a specimen of the Bald Eagle the same 
corresponding feather gave only 22J inches, though the specimen 
was a female.] The under wing-coverts iron-grey. Foot warty 
beneath like a rasp, enabling the bird to secure its slippery prey. 
Leg feathers brown-cinnamon, pointed backwards. Iris hazel, in- 
clining to chesnut. The head more convex than in the Bald Eagle. 
Subgenus — Haliaetos. 
Nostrils crescent-shaped. Legs half-feathered ; toes divided to 
the base. 
These live chiefly upon fish ; and keep generally near the sea- 
shores, lakes, and rivers, though their superior size and strength en- 
able them to prey upon large animals, 
