102 
WILD AMERICANS 
and suddenly dart down to catch it in his great claws, 
callen talons. 
“Sometimes he will see another bird, such as an 
osprey, with a fish in its claws, and will attack this 
smaller bird. The osprey may be flying very high, 
but he will drop his fish to flee, knowing that the 
eagle is a dangerous enemy. At once the eagle dives 
like a bullet, catches the fish in the air, and flies off 
to his nest or some other secluded place to eat it.” 
“Goodness!” exclaimed Ginger. 
“Then the eagle is a thief!” Buck declared. 
“Yes, in a way. But Nature made him that way, 
remember. After all, the osprey had taken the fish 
from its water home. In one sense, you steal a calf 
from its mother when you butcher it for food. It is 
Nature’s plan for some animals to prey on others.” 
Buck was staring at the picture of the bird on his 
silver dollar. 
“He looks fierce, all right,” he remarked. “What 
kind of an eagle is he, Uncle Ely?” 
“We call him the Bald Eagle. Actually he is not 
bald. His head and neck feathers, and those on his 
tail, are snow'white. If you see this bird sitting high 
on a tree, his head looks like frosted silver, and when 
he flies he has a wide wingspread and he moves with 
