It is fond of carrion and pursues the smaller Osprey or Fish Hawk until that bird is forced to give up the prey which it has captured. Bald Eagles rarely take poultry. They sometimes pursue water-fowl, but in Pennsylvania do not destroy much game or valuable wild-life and are therefore protected.
The cry of the Bald Eagle is a barking squeal, sometimes very high and thin, often scarcely to be heard.
A dark-colored Eagle with white patches showing on the under-wing is likely to be an immature Bald Eagle. The Golden Eagle almost always appears dark from below, save for the basal half of the tail, which is grayish or white.
DUCK HAWK
Rhynchodon peregrinus anatum (Bonaparte)
Other Names.—Peregrine Falcon; Rock Hawk; Bullet Hawk; Blue Hawk; American Peregrine; Ledge Hawk.
Description.—Size medium; female much larger than male; wings long and pointed; plumage very firm and stiff. Adults: Top of head and patch below eyes and on rear part of cheeks, black; back, wings, and tail bluish slate, heavily barred with darker gray; tail tipped with white; underparts buffy, barred and spotted with black, chiefly on sides and flanks. Immature: Upperparts dark brown, the plumage considerably margined with buffy or pale brownish; area below eye black; cheeks brownish; underparts dark brown, all the feathers widely margined with buffy, giving a mottled and streaked appearance; cere and feet yellow; eyes very dark brown. Length: Male, 16 inches; female, 19 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A rare summer resident from March to November along cliff-lined rivers. It occasionally occurs in migration and has been known to winter in the Philadelphia region, where the solitary birds live upon pigeons, and roost on the ledges of tall buildings.
Nest.—None is made. Eggs: 3 to 6, whitish, heavily spotted with rusty or chocolate-brown, or solid brown, laid either on the bare rock in a sheltered niche on a high cliff, or in a slight depression in the earth on such a ledge, if there be any soil.
Duck Hawk, Adult
This is one of Pennsylvania’s rarest hawks. Along the Juniata River, and where there are cliffs along the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers, they are sometimes seen beating their way buoyantly, high in the air, or plunging down from the heights either in pursuit of prey or in play. Their call-note, a sharp and rapidly repeated kee, kee, kee, kee echoes among the rocks. Near their nest the birds are vicious toward intruders.
For speed and daring, the Duck Hawk is famous. It pursues and captures the most rapid ducks, even Teal. I have seen it kill Pileated Woodpeckers and Crows, but, as a rule, it captures Meadowlarks, Blue Jays, Robins, and shorebirds which happen to pass by its eyrie, or for which it watches from its high vantage-point. It is particularly fond of domestic pigeons if there be any in the vicinity, and will live almost exclusively upon them as long as the supply lasts. Striking its prey with closed fists, it slashes the skin open with the long claws of the hind toe.
Sometimes a Duck Hawk may be seen from the train window in the vicinity of Huntingdon, Spruce Creek, Palmerton, or Dauphin. The Duck Hawk is not protected in Pennsylvania.