Nov. 3, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
6 93 
chosen a better spot, as it is high and dry, well- 
sheltered and has an unfailing supply of water 
in the river flowing by. The Indian, I think, 
had not much sense of the picturesque, but if 
he had, the river referred to would alone ac¬ 
count for his encampment. It is by long odds 
the most charming bit of water around New 
York, and in these October days its beauty is 
simply indescribable. There is that about it 
withal—a primitiveness—a wildness— which sug¬ 
gests that though the red man is gone, his 
spirit guards it still. Frank Moonan. 
The Bald Eagle. 
[From “The North American Eagles and Their 
Economic Relations.” By Harry C. Oberholser, Assist¬ 
ant Ornithologist, Biological Survey. Biological Survey 
Bulletin No. 27.] 
The present purpose is to bring together such 
facts as have bearing on the economic relations 
of the North American eagles; and this bulletin 
has therefore to do with the distribution of the 
several species, their general manner of life, 
as well as, most important of all, their food 
habits. It is difficult to obtain stomachs of 
eagles for examination, hence few data of this 
kind have been available at first hand; but all 
other sources of information have been utilized 
in order that this report may represent as nearly 
as oossible our present knowledge of the subject. 
Wherever eagles occur commonly they are 
among the best known of birds. They appear 
frequently in the language and legends of 
ancient peoples, and often have been chosen as 
national emblems, since for size, powerful flight, 
and fierce nature they have been celebrated from 
earliest historic times. Though found in almost 
every quarter of the globe—North America, 
South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, 
and the East India Islands—they are most 
numerous in Europe, Asia and Africa. North 
America possesses but four species, only two 
of which—the golden eagle and the bald'eagle— 
are of general distribution and thus of particular 
economic interest in this region; while the harpy 
eagle reaches our territory, if at all, as merely 
a casual visitor to Texas, and may properly be 
left out of the present consideration. 
Eagles are popularly supposed to be quite 
different from hawks, but, in a word, they are 
nothing more than large hawks. Few birds ex¬ 
ceed or even equal them in duration of life, for 
they reach sometimes the age of nearly a hun¬ 
dred years. They are not usually sociable, but 
live singly or in pairs and dwell in the wilder 
places in all kinds of country from tropical 
deserts to the Arctic regions. In their search 
for food, however, they often wander far, and 
emboldened by hunger even approach the 
abodes of man. In story books and newspapers 
eagles have many times been accused of carrying 
off young children, but most if not all such 
tales are wholly unreliable. 
Eagles are flesh eaters, and since they con¬ 
sume large quantities of whatever animal food 
is most accessible they become at times an 
economic factor of some importance, though 
whether beneficial or injurious in a given region 
is not always easy to say. In places overrun by 
the smaller noxious mammals they frequently 
perform valuable service by thinning the ranks 
of such pests, and the fondness of some species 
for carrion is an added source of benefit to 
man. But if, perchance, they do render us 
some good deeds, they offset these by wholesale 
destruction of waterfowl and game birds and 
by raids upon the sheepfold, the goat pasture, 
the cattle pen and the poultry yard. Thus a 
just verdict must pronounce them not far from 
neutral in economic influence. Where and when 
they are doing good they ought to be carefully 
protected; if at any time or place they become 
harmful, means should be taken to obviate the 
damage they cause; but it would be unneces¬ 
sary and unwise to declare against all eagles a 
general war of extermination, since neutral 
species always bear an important part in the 
balance of nature, an equilibrium that man 
should hesitate to disturb. 
Bald Eagle (Haliaetus leucocephalus). 
The bald eagle, otherwise variously called 
white-headed eagle, white-headed sea eagle, and 
bird of Washington, is of particular interest to 
Americans as the national emblem of the United 
States, to which dignity it was elevated on June 
20, 1782. The name ‘bald’ eagle, by which the 
species is almost universally known, originated 
from the white head and the erroneous impres¬ 
sion of baldness it gives at a distance. 
This bird measures about 3 or y / 2 feet in 
length, from 6 to 8 feet in extent of wings, and 
weighs from 6 to 12 pounds. When fully adult 
its color is dark brown, with white head, neck, 
and tail, yellow bill, eyes, and feet. At least 
three or four years are required for the assump¬ 
tion of this plumage, younger birds being en¬ 
tirely brownish or blackish. 
The bald eagle inhabits nearly the whole of 
North America, from northern Mexico and 
bald eagle ( Haliceetus leucocephalus). 
Drawn by R. Ridgway. 
Florida north to Ungava and the Anderson 
river, west to the mainland of Alaska, the Aleu¬ 
tian Islands, and the Commander Islands, 
Kamchatka.* 
General Habits. 
Over much of its range, particularly in the 
more thickly settled parts of the United States, 
the bald eagle is by no means common dur¬ 
ing the breeding season; but in sections ot 
Florida, on the Aleutian Islands, the coast ot 
southern Alaska, British Columbia, and Wash¬ 
ington it seems to be more numerous than any¬ 
where else. From the more northern regions, 
particularly the interior of Alaska and of north¬ 
ern Canada, it withdraws for the winter wlien 
the lakes and rivers freeze; but elsewhere it 
seems to have no regular or well-defined mi¬ 
gration, although during the cold season it 
*The birds from Alaska and much of British America 
are considerably larger than those from further south, 
and on this account have been separated as a distinct 
race {Halicelus leucocephalus alascanus, Townsend). 
wanders more or less, apparently influenced 
largely by the food supply, since it is easily able 
to withstand the rigor of even an arctic climate. 
It is more maritime and fluvicoline than the 
golden eagle, preferring the neighborhood of 
the seacoast, lakes, and larger streams, and it 
is seldom really common at a distance from 
them. It inhabits, however, all kinds of country 
so long as the main requisite—plenty of water 
-—is there, and in mountains or on plains, in 
heavy forests or along barren shores it finds a 
congenial abode. 
Under most circumstances wary and difficult 
of approach, with an eye open for danger and 
giving suspected things a wide berth, this eagle, 
nevertheless, where not molested, is often sui- 
prisingly tame and unsuspicious. Unprovoked 
it rarely attacks man, although such instances 
have been reported. It prefers trees for watch¬ 
ing and roosting, but in spring sometimes de¬ 
scends to ride the cakes of ice in the river, ap¬ 
parently looking for fish. Though not a gre¬ 
garious species, it may at times be seen in com¬ 
panies of as many as ten or even fifteen indi¬ 
viduals. It is evidently not lacking in conjugal 
affection, and the first mating results in an alli¬ 
ance, defensive and offensive, that is believed to 
last as long as both survive; but when one of a 
pair dies, the other, male or female, soon se¬ 
cures another partner that at once assumes the 
responsibilities of the interrupted household. 
The notes of this eagle are few, usually pro¬ 
duced in a loud, harsh scream, but heard at a 
distance they lose much of their disagreeable 
sound. The flight is powerful, capable of being 
indefinitely sustained, and is accomplished now 
by steady wing-beats, now by soaring either on 
a level course or in great ascending circles as is 
the habit of most large birds of prey. The bird 
occasionally makes a plunge from a great height 
—a marvelous feat, performed with such velocity 
that the eye can scarcely follow the descent. In 
strength the bald eagle is hardly less remarkable 
than in power of flight, and it has been known 
to carry for five miles a lamb of weight fully 
equal to its own. It can readily be kept in con¬ 
finement, for it will thrive on any kind of meat 
or fish; and it sometimes even develops no little 
attachment for its owner. 
This species breeds throughout its range 
wherever suitable places exist, and it has been 
known to lay and hatch eggs in confinement. 
In the southern part of the United States, from 
Florida to Texas, it breeds very early, deposit¬ 
ing its eggs usually during the first half of 
December, exceptionally about the 1st of 
November, occasionally in January or February; 
in the Middle States and in California it lays 
in February or March, and to the northward 
correspondingly later.—about the middle of 
April in southern Alaska, sometimes in May, or 
even June, in the Arctic regions. 
The nest is located nearly always in the 
vicinity of a stream or body of water, often 
along the seacoast. The favorite site is the top 
of a tall tree, in the South often a pine, fre¬ 
quently a hundred feet or more from the ground. 
Where there are no trees a rock or a niche in 
a cliff serves the purpose, while along the coast 
of Texas nests have been found even on the 
ground of low islands. 
The same nest is occupied year after year, 
and annually repaired or augmented until it be¬ 
comes an immense structure 5, 6, or even 8 feet 
high and as much in diameter, containing fully 
a cartload or two of material. It usually forms 
a strong platform with only a slight depression 
in the center, and easily sustains the weight of 
a man; but when built on the ground it oc¬ 
casionally consists merely of a few sticks and a 
little rubbish. The usual material is sticks of 
all sizes up to fully 3 inches in diameter and 5 
feet in length, weeds, vines, grass, moss, and 
pieces of turf, with more or less lining of twigs, 
grass, straw, hay, moss, lichens, leaves, and sea¬ 
weed. 
The eggs are dull white and generally two, 
unusually one or three, rarely four in number. 
They are deposited at intervals of two to four 
days, and incubation, in which both male and 
female take part, lasts about thirty to thirty- 
six days. The nestlings are at first covered 
