Washington Eagle.—For the first accurate observation of this bird, we have been indebted to the untiring study and genius of Audubon, who first noticed it in the year 1814. He is three feet and seven inches long; the extent of his wings is ten feet two inches. His plumage is compact and glossy, the upper parts being of a dark, shining coppery brown; thethroat, breast and belly of a bright rich cinnamon color. He lives in the neighborhood of the seashore, lakes and rivers, and subsists chiefly on fish. ‘The name which I have chosen for this new species of eagle,’ says its great discoverer, ‘the “Bird of Washington,” may, by some, be considered as preposterous and unfit; but as it is indisputably the noblest bird of its genus that has yet been discovered in the United States, I trust I shall be allowed to honor it with the name of one yet nobler, who was the savior of his country, and whose name will ever be dear to it. To those who may be curious to know my reasons, I can only say, that, as the new world gave me birth and liberty, the great man who insured its independence is next to my heart. He had a nobility of mind and a generosity of soul, such as are seldom possessed. He was brave, so is the eagle; like it, too, he was the terror of his foes; and his fame, extending from pole to pole, resembles the majestic soarings of the mightiest of the feathered tribe. If America has reason to be proud of her Washington, so has she to be proud of her great eagle.’
Washington Eagle.
White-headed or Bald Eagle.—This bird is abundant in all the latitudes of the United States, but shows a predilection for the warmer climates. He lives near the seacoast, where he usually selects some lofty pine or cypress for his eyry, which he builds of large sticks, sods, moss, reeds, pine tops and other coarse materials, arranged in a sort of level bed. This breeding place is never deserted as long us the tree lasts. Fish constitutes the chief article of food of this bird, and he usually obtains it by cunning andrapine, seldom by the exercise of honest industry. His principal occupation is to rob the osprey of the fruits of his labor,and he has sometimes been known to attack the vulture, and oblige him to disgorge his carrion.[49]
White-headed or Bald Eagle.
Royal or Golden Eagle.—This bird is found in all the cold and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. It is supposed to live for a century, and is about three years in gaining its complete growth and permanent plumage. The neighborhood of Hudson’s Bay is more frequented by this eagle than any part of the United States, but it is not uncommon in the great plains of the larger western rivers. ‘The lofty mountains of New Hampshire,’ says Mr. Nuttall, ‘afford suitable situations for the eyry of this eagle, over whose snow-clad summits he is seen majestically soaring in solitude and grandeur. A young bird from this region, which I have in a state of domestication, showed considerable docility. He had, however, been brought up from the nest, in which he was found in the month of August; he appeared even playful, turning his head about in a very antic manner, as if desirous to attract attention; still his glance was quick and fiery. When birds were given to him, he plumed them very clean before he began his meal, and picked the subject to a perfect skeleton.’
The Ring-tailed Eagle is now found to be the young of this bird, as has been long supposed. Its tail feathers are highly valued by the aborigines as they serve for ornamenting their calumets.
Ring-tailed Eagle.