Description.—Size very large; wing-spread from 6 to 8 feet; female noticeably the larger. Adults: Plumage rich deep brown, save on crown, nape, and hind neck where the pointed feathers are golden brown, and on the basal half of the tail, which is barred with whitish or gray; cere and toes yellow; bill blue-black; eyes dark brown; tarsus, which is fully feathered down to the toes, white or pale buffy. Immature: Similar, but the basal half or two-thirds of the tail is white and the under tail-coverts are margined with buffy. Length: About 3 feet.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A winter visitant, usually rare, though sometimes recorded several times during a single season. It is most often to be seen in the mountainous counties.
The Golden Eagle is occasionally caught in steel traps which have been set for foxes or other fur-bearers. Each winter one or two of these great birds are thus made captive or shot by farmers who are protecting their poultry.
It is a magnificent creature, with its regal bearing, its deep set, brilliant eyes, and its sleek, lustrous plumage. In captivity it is not given to beating itself about, but bears itself with simple dignity, as though it understood the futility of trying to make an escape.
In the field, it is to be distinguished with difficulty from the immature Bald Eagle, the latter bird having white areas on the under wing which the Golden Eagle lacks. Close at hand, it will be noted that both birds have long feathers on the tibial region, the tips of these feathers sometimes reaching well toward the toes, but in the Golden Eagle the whole foot, down to the toes, is covered with short, thick plumage.
The Golden Eagle has been known to kill foxes and lambs. There is an authentic record of the killing of a sturdy, though small, fawn by one of these great birds. Pursuing the fawn through the woods, it frightened it over a sharp declivity, and its leg was broken in the fall. The Eagle’s long, vise-like talons and great bill finished the unfortunate creature.
BALD EAGLE
Haliæëtus leucocephalus leucocephalus (Linnæus)
Other Names.—American Eagle; White-headed Eagle.
Description.—Size very large, a wing-spread of over 6 feet. Fully adult birds: Brownish black with head and neck, tail, and upper and under tail-coverts, white; bill clear bright yellow; feet dull yellow; eyes bright pale yellow. Young birds in their first plumage: Almost black, with irregular mottling of white on underparts; bill and cere dusky; eyes dark brown. In somewhat older young the plumage is much mottled with white, buffy, and grayish on the upperparts as well as below, and the under wings are blotched with white. As the bird grows older the light areas become more extensive. In the fourth year the head and tail become pure white and the mottling of the rest of the plumage does not reappear. Immature Bald Eagles sometimes have the general appearance of a Golden Eagle, but the feathers of the feet never extend down to the toes, as they do in the Golden Eagle. Length: A little under 3 feet.
Range in Pennsylvania.—Rare and irregular migrant and summer resident (occasionally noted in winter), save at Erie, where it is fairly common. Here it searches for fish and refuse along the shore and nests in the vicinity. In October and November, Bald Eagles from the North Country migrate through Pennsylvania, following some of the ridges of the eastern counties. They are sometimes noted along the Susquehanna and Delaware rivers, where formerly, and perhaps in limited numbers today, they nest on the larger wooded islands.
Nest.—A huge mass of sticks and débris, sometimes a wagon-load or more, built into the principal crotch or top of a sycamore or other large tree, often at great height from the ground. Eggs: 2 or 3, chalky white.
Bald Eagle, Adult
The Bald Eagle is usually seen along waterways or in the mountains. It ranges widely and flies with great majesty, its wide, heavy wings giving it, even at great distance, the appearance of weight and strength.