3. Haliaetus albicilla. (Linn.) The Gray Sea Eagle. The European Sea Eagle. Vultur albicilla. Linn., Syst. Nat., I. p. 123. (1766.) Falco ossifraga et melanaetos. Linn., Syst. Nat., I. p. 124. (1766.) Haliaetus grœnlandicus. Brehm, Vog. Deuts., I. p. 16. (1831.)
Buff., Pl. Enl., 112, 415; Selby, Ill. Brit. Orn., pl. 3; Gould, B. of Eur., I. pl. 10.
Large, bill large, much hooked; wings long; tail moderate. Adult. Tail white; head and neck pale yellowish-brown, in some specimens very light; all other parts of the plumage dark umber-brown; quills nearly black; bill, feet and irides yellow. Younger. Bill brownish-black; irides brown; entire plumage dark-brown, with the tail mottled with white, much varying in extent; throat paler, and in some specimens nearly white.
Dimensions. Female—total length, about 3 feet to 40 inches; wing, 2 feet 3 inches; tail, 1 foot. Male—smaller.
Hab. Greenland (Fabricius, Holboll). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. This Eagle, which is common in Europe, and breeds in cliffs on the sea-shore, we give as an inhabitant of Greenland. We have to say, however, that the only specimen from that country which we have ever seen, and which is a young bird, presents considerable variations from European specimens, and we consider it quite possible that Dr. Brehm is right in giving it specific distinction. The young of this bird resembles that of the succeeding species (H. leucocephalus), and the most readily-detected difference is its larger size and longer tarsi. The adults are, however, entirely dissimilar.
4. Haliaetus leucocephalus. (Linn.) The Bald Eagle. The White-headed Eagle. Falco leucocephalus. Linn., Syst. Nat., I. p. 124. (1766.) Falco pygargus. Daud., Traité, II. p. 62. (1800.) Falco ossifragus. Wilson, Am. Orn., VII. p. 16. (1813.)
Cat. Car., I. pl. 1; Buff., Pl. Enl., 411; Vieill., Ois. d’Am., Sept., I. pl. 3; Wils., Am. Orn., IV. pl. 36; VII. pl. 55; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 31, 126; oct. ed., I. pl. 14.
Large, but smaller than either of the preceding Eagles; bill large, strong, much hooked and sharp; wings long; tail moderate; tarsi rather short. Adult. Head, tail and its upper and under coverts white; entire other plumage brownish-black, in some specimens with the edges of the feathers paler; bill, feet and irides yellow. Younger. Entire plumage dark brown; throat paler; abdomen frequently with fulvous edgings on many feathers; bill brownish-black; iris brown; tail more or less mottled with white, which color in a more advanced stage extends over a large portion of the tail, especially on the inner webs of the feathers.
Dimensions. Female—total length, about 3 feet; wing, about 23 inches; tail, about 14 inches. Male—smaller.
Hab. All of North America; Oregon (Townsend); Florida (Bartram); Accidental in Europe. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. This handsome bird, which has had the honor of being adopted as the emblem of the United States, inhabits the whole of North America. It is very easily recognized when adult, and the young is not readily mistaken for that of any other American species except the immediately preceding.
III. GENUS PANDION. Savigny, Nat. Hist. Egypt, I. p. 95. (1809.)
Bill short, curved from the base, hooked, compressed; wings very long; tarsi short, very thick and strong, and covered with small circular scales; claws large, curved very sharp; tail moderate. Contains about three or four species nearly allied, inhabiting various parts of the world.
1. Pandion carolinensis. (Gen.) The Fish Hawk. The Osprey. Falco carolinensis. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. 263. (1788.) Aquila piscatrix. Vieill., Ois. d’Am. Sept., I. p. 29. (1807.) Pandion americanus. Vieill., Gal., I. p. 33. (1825.)
Vieill., Ois. d’Am. Sept., I. pl. 4; Cat. Car., I. pl. 2; Wilson, Am. Orn., V. pl. 37; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 81; oct. ed., I. pl. 15; Nat. Hist. N. Y. Birds, pl. 8, fig. 18.
Legs, feet and claws very strong. Adult. Head and entire under-parts white; wide stripe through the eye downwards, longitudinal stripe on the top of the head and occiput and entire upper parts of the body, wings and tail, deep umber-brown, generally with the feathers more or less edged with lighter brown; tail with about eight bands of blackish-brown, and with the greater parts of the inner-webs of its feathers white; breast with numerous cordate and circular spots of pale yellowish-brown; bill and claws bluish-black; tarsi and toes greenish-yellow. Young. Similar to the adult, but with the upper plumage edged and tipped with pale-brownish, nearly white.
Dimensions. Female—total length (of skin), about 25 inches; wing, 21½; tail, 10½ inches. Male—smaller.
Hab. Throughout North America; Texas (Woodhouse); Oregon (U. S. Ex. Exp. Vincennes). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.