Eagle vs. Fish Hawk. 
BY J. F. W. 
[t is a well-known fact among Naturalists 
that in localities where both birds are common- 
ly found, the Eagle robs the Fish Hawk of 
many a savory meal, relying on its superior 
prowess and power of wing to force from the 
Hawk its hard-earned but lawful prey. 
I had often read of this fact but never had a 
practical illustration of it until the spring of 
'86 while camping on the Matanzas river in 
Florida. One hot day in May I was sitting on 
the bank of the river lazily smoking my favor- 
ite pipe and watching the graceful motions of 
the Least Terns that were continually flying up 
and down the river. Suddenly a Fish Hawk 
appeared on the scene and my whole attention 
was at once centered on his repeated unsuccess- 
ful plunges in pursuit of his finny prey. At 
last he was successful and brought to the sur- 
face of the water a Mullet that as near as I 
, could judge would weigh about two pounds. 
With a shake he divested his feathers of all un- 
necessary weight in the shape of water, and 
: started to fly slowly toward a large dead tree 
where he could enjoy the fruit of his labor. He 
had nearly reached the tree when all at once he 
uttered a cry and with quick hurried flappings 
started to fly toward the heavens. For a min- 
ute I could not understand this change of 
tactics and was wondering what had happened 
to the Hawk, when actor No. 2 appeared in 
the shape of a Bald Eagle, with wings set, com- 
ing straight toward his victim with the velocity 
of the wind. They met and then began a series 
of aerial evolutions that made me hold my 
breath as I watched pursued and pursuer each 
struggling to outdo the other. The Hawk had 
quite a start, but inch by inch the Eagle gained ! 
on him until with a last despairing cry the 
Hawk dropped his fish. For a second I saw 
the silvery sides of the Mullet flash in the 
bright sunlight as it fell toward the earth, and 
in another second I saw the Eagle falling rapid- 
ly head first toward the ftsh which it caught 
before it had fallen one hundred feet. With 
an upward swoop the Eagle gained his equilib- 
rium aud sailed rapidly toward a neighboring 
dark pine forest that undoubtedly contained 
his nest. 
This was the final act of a drama enacted in 
nature's own theatre and it left me with a feel- 
ing of uncertainty as to whether I had been up 
in the air chasing the Hawk with the Eagle or 
whether I was standing on terra firma during 
the performance. 
Jh' rtM/ VW Co ^ ~Hu, 'triteti, 
Qyj^reiuoC &o. tyslpiAeiev , -6y //■ l OocU&lrw si 
The Bald Eagle. ( Haliceetus leucocephalus ) is 
an abundant resident of this county, and in- 
deed they seemed more numerous than any 
other of the Baptores, excepting the Sparrow 
Hawk ( T. sparverius ) , which is every wiiere 
abundant. Three nests of the Bald Eagle 
came under my notice while there. They were 
all placed in medium sized pine trees, none be- 
ing over fifty feet from the ground. From two 
of them the young had recently flown and the 
third contained a full fledged Eaglet. 
Procuring the assistance of a “ Cracker ” I 
had this tree cut down. The young bird did 
not try to save itself by flight, but fell with the 
tree and was killed. It was of a uniform dark 
brown color all over, aud appeared to be larger 
than the parent birds. These circled around 
us at a safe distance, notwithstanding the pre- 
diction of our “ Cracker ” friend that it would 
be dangerous to disturb the nest. 
The nest as it lay on the ground presented a 
mass of debris , large enough to fill a good- 
sized cart. Sticks of various sizes formed the 
bulk of the structure, while occasional pieces 
of sod, bunches of grass, bones and feathers 
were mixed through the mass. The top was a flat 
platform. The nest, as well as the young bird, 
was completely covered with very small, but 
exceedingly lively parasites. In order to have 
the young leave the nest by this time, March 
10th, or earlier, the eggs must have been laid 
very early in the year, or late in the preceding, 
which latter I think is frequently the case in 
Florida. I have a set of two eggs that were 
taken, when fresh, near Sarasota, on the Gulf 
Coast, Nov. 21st, 1886. 
All the nests I saw — and they must have 
been a small part of those existing in that sec- 
tion — were located within a mile of Indian 
River, where an abundant supply of fish is con- 
stantly found. I could not learn whether they 
did their own fishing or relied on the services 
of the Fish Ilawk, ( Pandion haliaetus carolinen- 
sis ), though the latter species did not seem at 
all numerous and none of its nests were seen. 
O.&o. XII. Sept. 1887 P./V5- 
Large Eagles. — An immense adult Bald Eagle ( Haliaetus lucocefha- 
lus ) was lately sent from North Carolina to Mr. Newton Dexter of this 
city, the spread of whose wings measured 8 feet. It is well known that 
the young Bald Eagle is larger than the adult, and Mr. Dexter and myself 
were discussing that point only a few days previously while examining a 
large Golden Eagle which had been sent in to me to mount. 
I bought in November last a young female Bald Eagle, shot in New 
Shoreham. which measured 7 feet 3 inches, the greatest spread of wing of 
any I ever had. Mr. Dexter has killed dozens of Eagles and says this is 
the largest he ever saw. — Frederic T. Jencks, Providence , R. 1 . 
Bull. N. O.O. a, April, 1881, p. /%%. 
too 
