THE WHITE-HEADED EAGLE. 
275 
were so worn out, and of such a rusty colour, that I 
imagined the bird had lost the power of moulting. 
The legs and feet were covered with large warts — the 
claws and bill were much blunted— -it could scarcely fly 
more than a hundred yards at a time, and this it did 
with a heaviness, and unsteadiness of motion, such as 
I never witnessed in any other bird of the species. The 
body was poor, and very tough. The eye was the only 
part which appeared to have sustained no injury. It 
remained sparkling, and full of animation ; and, even 
after death, seemed to have lost little of its lustre. No 
wounds were perceivable on its body. 
“ The white-headed eagle is seldom seen alone, the 
mutual attachment which two individuals form when 
they first pair, seeming to continue until one of them 
dies or is destroyed. They hunt for the support of 
each other, and seldom feed apart, but usually drive 
off other birds of the same species. They commence 
their amatory intercourse at an earlier period than any 
other land bird with which I am acquainted, generally 
in the month of December. At this time, along the 
Mississippi, or by the margin of some lake not far in the 
interior of the forest, the male and female birds are 
observed making a great bustle, flying about and circling 
in various ways, uttering a loud cackling noise, alighting 
on the dead branches of the tree on which their nest is 
already preparing, or in the act of being repaired, and 
caressing each other. In the beginning of January 
incubation commences. I shot a female, on the 17th 
of that month, as she sat on her eggs, on which the 
chicks had made considerable progress. 
“ The nest, which in some instances is of great size, is 
usually placed on a very tall tree, destitute of branches 
to a considerable height, but by no means always a dead 
one. It is never seen on rocks. It is composed of 
sticks, from three to five feet in length, large pieces of 
turf, rank weeds, and Spanish moss in abundance, 
whenever that substance happens to be near. When 
finished, it measures from five to six feet in diameter ; 
and so great is the accumulation of materials, that 
