28 
THE WASHINGTON EAGLE. 
as at a later period of the spring, these birds are occasion- 
ally seen in this vicinity,* rendered perhaps bolder and 
more familiar by want, as the prevalence of the ice and 
cold, at this season, drives them to the necessity of wander- 
ing further than usual in search of food. At this early 
period, Audubon observed indications of the approach of the 
breeding season. They are sometimes seen contending in 
the air, so that one of the antagonists will suddenly drop 
many feet downwards as if wounded or alarmed. My 
friend, Dr. Hayward of Boston, had in his possession one 
of these fine docile Eagles for a considerable time; but 
desirous of devoting it to the then Linnseum Museum, he 
attempted to poison it, by corrosive sublimate of mercury; 
several times, however, doses even of two drams were given 
to it concealed in fish, without producing any injurious 
effect on its health. 
“The Washington Eagle, bold and vigorous, disdains 
the piratical habits of the Bald Eagle, and invariably 
obtains his own sustenance without molesting the osprey. 
The circles he describes in his flight are wider than those 
of the White-headed Eagle ; he also flies nearer to the land 
or the surface of the water ; and when about to dive for his 
prey, he descends in circuitous, spiral rounds, as if to check 
the retreat of the fish, on which he darts only when within 
the distance of a few yards. When his prey is obtained, 
* Cambridge, Mass. 
