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associated with this division. The golden eagle and the bald 
eagle are occasionally seen in all parts of the country, 
though they are now somewhat rare along the Atlantic coast, 
and for a long distance into the interior. They are the only 
eagles properly belonging to the North American fauna, 
although as the bald eagle does not receive its white head and 
tail until its third year, its different stages of plumage have 
given rise to several vernacular names by which it is known. 
Dr. Elliott Coues sums up the distribution and character of 
this species in his “ Key to North American Birds ” after the 
following descriptive manner:— 
“North America, common; piscivorous; a piratical parasite of the 
Osprey; otherwise notorious as the Emblem of the Republic.’' 
Certainly, on watching its filthy habits, its sneaking ways, 
and its thievish expression, one is not disposed to be proud 
of his “Bird of Freedom.” 
The falcons, harriers, kites, and goshawks are small hawks 
of rapid and vigorous flight and daring disposition. They 
are found all over the world. The falcons are readily distin¬ 
guished by the presence of a notch—called the tooth—in the 
upper mandible. 
The vultures are represented in North America by a family 
known as Cathartidce , of which the best known species are 
the turkey vulture, common to all North America, and the 
black vulture, which is mainly confined to the south Atlantic 
and Gulf States, where they perform the duties of useful 
scavengers in the streets of even the large cities. 
It may be mentioned here that the term “buzzard” is 
commonly, though improperly, applied to these birds; the 
true relation of the word has been given above. 
The caracara belongs to a small group of hawks approach¬ 
ing somewhat in habit to the vultures. They range from 
South and Central America into the southern parts of the 
United States. 
A strange bird, strictly belonging to the Accipitres , though 
bearing a resemblance in length of leg to the cranes and 
storks, is the Secretary Vulture (Serpentarius secretariats) 
of South Africa. Its name is derived from a tuft of feathers 
projecting backwards from each side of the head, and resem¬ 
bling the quill pen which clerks or secretaries frequently carry 
behind their ears. It is also known as “serpent-eater,” from 
its habit of waging destructive war on the serpents which 
abound in its native country. It is a difficult bird to keep in 
