320 
HALIAET1DAE. 
readily understand why these noble Eagles have so long held their own; neither are they 
in any present danger of being exterminated, for the sections which they inhabit, will long 
remain unoccupied by man. I have, on several occasions, seen these fine birds circling 
high in air over the mountains of Northern New England and Pennsylvania but I never 
yet obtained a shot at one. Even the Indians considered it a notable feat to kill one of 
this species and, as these birds are certainly no less wary today, he who shoots a Golden 
Eagle may mark the date as an extra red-letter day in his calendar, resting assured that 
he will not have occasion to repeat it many times, at least in our section. 
The Golden Eagles hunt along the mountain sides, catching Grouse, rabbits, etc. and 
perching upon trees or high cliffs in order to devour their prey. Their nests are placed on 
the rocky shelves of steep precipices, where it is almost impossible to reach them. Mr. 
William Brewster in making some notes forme, some years ago, of the birds that occurred 
on the White Mountains, says of this species, “A pair have bred for years on a cliff, di¬ 
rectly over the Profile House. They could be seen at almost any hour in the day, scaling 
about their eyrie, uttering loud screams, but were especially noisy and active from sunset 
to dark”. 
FAMILY VI. HALIAETIDAE. THE FISH EAGLES. 
The sternum considerably exceeds twice its width in length , but there are no marginal in¬ 
dentations. 
The manubrium is quite well developed, abruptly truncated, and not forked. The 
furcula is stout, much flattened by lateral expansion, wide and thick near the base which 
is rounded and not produced into a point. The terminal expansion is not present, as in 
the last family, nor is it produced as far forward, but extends backward beneath the bone; 
the furcula near it is contracted but only slightly furrowed above and is bent downward to 
a point quite near the manubrium. The posterior border is entire and produced backward 
somewhat. The bill is stong, well-curved, with the cutting edge of upper mandible slight¬ 
ly lobed. The tarsus is short, stout, and naked to the heel behind but is feathered in front 
for about half its length. The toes are stout, with strong, well-curved claws, but differ 
from those of the True Eagles in having but two bones in the inner toe, instead of three. 
The wings are very long and pointed. The tail is quite long and considerably rounded; 
GENUS I. HALIAETUS. THE SEA EAGLES. 
Gen. Ch. Sternum, about as wide as it is high, including the keel. Keel, not reaching the posterior border which is con¬ 
siderably rounded. 
The sterno-trachealis is thick and there is a small bronchialis, hut no other laryngeal muscles. The trachea is a little 
flattened throughout. The oesophagus is dilated near the middle into quite a large crop, and the walls are very thin. The 
proventriculus is very large, with quite small, simple, oval glands, arranged in a zonular hand which measures from 2'00 
to 225 in width, but in four pyramid-shaped ridges. The stomach is small, somewhat globular in form, with very thin 
walls, lined with a 6oft membrane. The fold of the duodenum is very long, measuring 7 - 00, much twisted, and incloses a 
small, irregularly formed pancreas which only occupies a short portion of its entire length. Coeca, very small. Both lobes 
of the liver are about equal in size, and the heart is large but not pointed. The spleen is an oval shaped body situated on 
the proven triculus. ^ 
