734 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Nov. io, 1906. 
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. l!7.] 
Gray Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla.) 
The gray sea eagle is of about the same size 
as the bald eagle, from which it differs most 
noticeably in brownish instead of pure white 
head, neck and upper tail-coverts. Its technical 
name— Haliceetus albicilla —means literally “white¬ 
tailed sea eagle,” and its English name, “sea 
eagle,” originated from its well-known fondness 
for the seacoast. 
It ranges over most of Europe, including Ice¬ 
land and Nova Zembla, also the greater part of 
Asia, south to northern India and Asia Minor 
and to northern Africa; in North America it oc¬ 
curs, however, so far as known, only in Green¬ 
land, on the shores of Cumberland Sound, and 
on the Aleutian Islands, in the last locality posi¬ 
tively recorded from only Unalaska Island, 
though doubtless to be found elsewhere. In 
Europe there is a more or less well-defined south¬ 
ward movement in autumn, at least from high 
northern latitudes, but in Greenland, where this 
bird is common and breeds, it remains over win¬ 
ter, and there is no record of its occurrence on 
the American Continent to the southward. 
General Habits. 
Although but locally, and to some extent sea¬ 
sonally, common, even in the vicinity of the sea- 
coast, where it usually breeds, it is found also 
about lakes and rivers, sometimes far in the in¬ 
terior and occasionally even away from water. 
It lives preferably about cliffs or rocky islets, yet 
where such are not available it haunts the forests 
or even the open country. It is fond of lofty 
perches from which it can survey the neighbor¬ 
hood for miles around, and here it watches for 
prey, which it is said to hunt largely during 
the early hours of the day. It seems to he less 
on the wing than some other eagles and ordinarily 
does not fly at so great a height. It is not gre¬ 
garious; is wary, though sometimes allowing a 
close approach; and its note is a shrill scream. 
It mates for life, although if one of the pair be 
killed the other soon contents itself with another 
mate. Kept in confinement, to which it can be 
readily accustomed, it often becomes docile. 
In Europe this eagle breeds from February to 
May, according to latitude; in Egypt, during De¬ 
cember and January; in Greenland, about May. 
The nest is placed on a cliff or rock pinnacle, 
in a tree or even on the level ground. When 
on a rock or a cliff, either of which seems to 
be a favorite location, it is often in the wildest 
part of the coast and practically inaccessible to 
enemies. It is a bulky structure, sometimes six 
or eight feet in diameter and five or six feet in 
height, nearly flat on top, and is composed chiefly 
of sticks, lined with twigs, dry grass, weed stalks, 
moss and seaweed. The eggs are commonly two, 
occasionally one or three in number, and are 
white, normally unspotted. The same aery is 
occupied for many successive seasons, sometimes 
as many as twenty or more, and receives addi¬ 
tions and repairs each year as necessity requires. 
Both male and female take part in the incubation, 
which lasts about a month. 
Food. 
Fish forms one of the chief articles of diet, 
especially in summer, and is obtained in part by 
fishing much after the manner of the osprey. 
Once in a while a fish too large to be managed 
is attacked, and the eagle, if unable to extricate 
its talons, is drawn under the water and drowned. 
The dead fishes and other offal thrown up by 
the waves along the shore are, however, quite 
the waves along the shore are, however, quite as 
much to its taste as freshly caught fish, and the gulls 
that gather about ”such food are often driven away 
by the sea eagle until it has appropriated all it 
desires. One eagle was found to have gorged 
itself from the carcass of a stranded whale. 
Birds also, principally waterfowl and game 
birds, are an important element of diet. The 
various kinds of water birds along the coast 
furnish a ready supply of food, and from vantage 
point of rock or cliff the eagle swoops down on 
its victims. This bill of fare includes plovers, 
curlews, grebes, wild geese, coots, ducks of var¬ 
ious species, and indeed almost all kinds of water 
birds; also bustards are sometimes taken. Meves 
states that on one occasion in western Russia, at 
a nest containing two young eagles respectively 
about five and eight days old, he found remains 
of the following birds: Two eiders ( Somateria 
sp.), one red-breasted merganser ( Merganser 
serrator ), one goosander ( Merganser mergan¬ 
ser ), and two long-tailed ducks ( Harelda hyema- 
lis). At certain times, particularly in winter, and 
in certain places, especially in the interior, the 
sea eagle destroys many grouse, pheasants and 
other upland game birds, and occasionally, when 
other food becomes scarce, also crows and small 
song birds of various kinds. Dr. G. Rorig found 
remains of an owl in the stomach of one individ¬ 
ual. It is known also to carry off poultry even 
from the vicinity of farmhouses. 
Though of powerful build the gray sea eagle 
is not so bold and active as many of its relatives, 
and apparently seldom attacks large animals. Mr. 
A. von Homeyer states that on one occasion he 
saw it kill a fox, and Dr. G. Rorig found re¬ 
mains of a fox in one of the eagle stomachs he 
examined. In winter, however, when in sore need 
of food, it has been known to attack a deer, and 
it sometimes kills young seals. It is fond of 
rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) and hares 
(Lcpus timidus ), and particularly in winter feeds 
upon them to a considerable exteht. On the 
steppes of southern Russsia it often pounces upon 
ground squirrels ( Citellus citellus ), and in the 
same region it is said to hunt moles ( Spalax 
pallasii and Spalax typhlus ) and to seize them 
while they are working below the surface of the 
soil. It preys somewhat also on mice, rats and 
other small mammals, occasionally even a dog. 
In some sections shepherds complain that, when¬ 
ever opportunity offers, this eagle attacks weak 
or sick sheep and kills a good many lambs. It 
apparently feeds readily on any kind of carrion. 
Economic Status. 
Altogether, the gray sea eagle appears to do 
more harm than good, and in some localities laws 
have been passed providing for its destruction. 
In North America the species occupies an area 
so small and so far to the northward that it is 
not likely to become an economic factor of im¬ 
portance. 
Racer and Rattler. 
Phoenix, Ariz., Sept. 27.—Editor Forest and 
Stream: I got the following snake story to¬ 
day from Mr. Geo. R. Morse, a cattleman living 
near Florence, some fifty miles above here. Mr. 
Morse is a gentleman whose word is unquestion¬ 
ably veracious, and there can be no doubt that 
he has told nothing but what he actually saw. 
“We were driving a bunch of cattle, three vaque- 
ros and I,” said Mr. Morse, “when we saw a 
rattlesnake in a most peculiar position. Its head 
and tail were out of sight in the darkness of a 
gopher or ground squirrel hole, the body of 
course, forming a loop or circle outside on the 
ground. We all dismounted and one of the boys, 
finding a stick, poked the snake. It did not 
move, so we concluded that it was dead. Another 
one of the men then grasped it in his hands and 
pulled, and the tail part soon came out of the 
hole, but not the head; something was hanging 
on to that which also pulled, and jerked, jerked 
hard just as a dog will when one gives him the 
end of a rope, or rag in play; and it held on to 
the body so tenaciously that the man had to use 
all his strength to gain any on it. Little by little, 
however, he kept pulling it his way, and sir, when 
he finally did succeed in drawing it out, we were 
astonished to find a big brown snake, locally 
known as a racer, hanging on to its head, with the 
tenacity of a bulldog. More than that, the racer 
wasn’t at all afraid of us, and as soon as he 
also was free from the hole, he coiled himself 
around his prey three or four times as tightly as 
he could. I tell you it was a most surprising 
and interesting sight. 
“One of my men,' a young excitable fellow, 
rushed in before I could stop him and tore the 
racer loose from the rattler; it didn’t want to go 
away at once, but circled around among us look¬ 
ing for its enemy, which the other man was hold¬ 
ing suspended in the air. The young fellow 
struck at it several times before it did retreat 
into the bushes nearby. I kept calling to him 
not to hurt it, but at first he was too excited to 
hear me. 
"Well, sir, the base of the head, and the neck 
of that rattler were literally chewed into shreds. 
In front of the squirrel hole, for a diameter of 
ten or twelve feet, the loose sandy soil of the 
desert was all smoothed over where the fight 
had taken place, and there were many scaly in¬ 
dentations in it where it had been whipped by the 
tails of the combatants. It must have been a 
fierce struggle that they had had. I believe that 
the rattler was able to resist some when the 
racer began to drag in into the hole, and that 
it thrust its tail in there thus making a loop of 
the rest of its body, that prevented its being 
drawn further in, and there it died. It is hardly 
necessary for me to say that I kill no more 
racers, and I have given my men notice that they 
must not do so either.” 
Several weeks ago, while driving out in the 
country near here, I came upon a large circle in 
the dusty road similar to the one described by 
Mr. Morse, and it was unquestionably made by 
a snake, for the scaly impression of its body was 
very plain. I wondered then what it could have 
been doing. Mr. Morse’s story explains it. 
Another such a fight as he describes had there 
taken place. Manzanita. 
Montana Deer Dying. 
Lismas, Mont., Oct. 27 .— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Sportsmen who wish to visit this part 
of the State will find good hunting of all kinds, 
but this fall or autumn the deer are not so plenti¬ 
ful as usual and a number are dying of some un¬ 
known disease, mostly bucks. People seem to 
think they are eating some kind of poisonous 
weed. 
The game laws-are closely observed and no dis¬ 
satisfaction among citizens in relation to them. 
H. 0. Gamas. 
Does the Buffalo Bellow? 
Billings, Mont. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
I notice in a Scribner’s article on buffalo by 
Ernest Thompson Seton, it is said that buffalo 
bellowed until it sounded like distant thunder. 
Such stories have been given to the people until 
they think the buffalo is nothing but a barnyard 
steer or bull. No man ever lived who has heard 
a buffalo bellow. W. A. Allen. 
The Forest and Stream may be obtained from 
any newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to 
supply you regularly. 
