GOLDEN EAGLE
349. Aquila chryœtos. 35 in.
Legs feathered to the toes. Plumage blackish-brown, adults having the lengthened feathers on the nape, golden-brown, and the tail more or less mixed with white; leg feathers rusty. These large, handsome, well-built birds of prey are fairly abundant in thinly settled country west of the Miss., especially in mountains and foot-hills. They are very powerful birds and a single pair of them will rule the whole country in which they reside. They are very shy in the presence of man and will never attack a person or show fight unless wounded or surprised at their meals. Their food consist of prairie dogs, rodents, ducks and even fawns.
Notes.—A shrill a “kee-kee-kee.”
Nest.—A very bulky structure of large sticks, lined with twigs, needles and in some cases evergreen; eggs creamy-white, spotted, splashed and clouded with various shades of brown and gray (2.90 × 2.50).
Range.—West of the Miss., from Mexico northward; rarely eastward to the Atlantic coast.
