41901, ♀. ¼

9128, ♀. ¼

41901, ♀. ¼

41901, ♀. ¼

54338, ♀. ½

12006, ♀. ¼

19124, ♀ ? ¼

Gen. Char. Form robust and structure powerful; the bearing and general aspect that of Buteo and Archibuteo. Wing long, the primaries long and strong, with their emarginations very deep. Tail rather short, slightly rounded or wedge-shaped. Bill stronger than in the preceding genera, its outlines nearly parallel, and the tip somewhat inclined backward at the point; commissure with a more or less prominent festoon; nostril narrowly oval, vertical; skin of the cere very hard and firm. Superciliary shield very prominent. Feet very strong, the membrane between the outer and middle toes very well developed; tarsus less than twice as long as the middle toe; outer toe equal to, or longer than, the inner; claws very long and strong, very much graduated in size; scutellæ of the toes small except on the terminal joint, where they form broad transverse plates; tarsi densely feathered all round down to the base of the toes; tibial plumes well developed, loose-webbed, their ends reaching down to or beyond the base of the toes. Feathers of the nape and occiput lanceolate, acute, and distinct, forming a nuchal “cape” of differently formed feathers. Third to fifth quill longest; first shorter than the seventh; outer five or six with their inner webs deeply emarginated.

This genus is almost peculiar to the Old World, where about seventeen so-called species are known, while America has no member of the genus exclusively its own, the single North American species being the same as the European one. Though the details of external structure vary somewhat, and the size ranges from that of a Buteo to that of a sea-eagle (Haliaëtus), the generic characters given in the above diagnosis apply well to all the species. The species of Heteropus, Hodgson, 1842 (A. malayensis, Rein. and H. gurneyi, Gray), I remove entirely from Aquila, since they differ so strikingly in many important respects. With the general aspect of Aquila, Heteropus has the outer toe disproportionately shorter than the inner (instead of equal to it, or longer), which curious feature it shares only with Geranospiza of tropical America, and Polyboroides of South Africa,—both terrestrial Buteonine forms of specialized structure. An entirely peculiar feature of Heteropus is the great length and straightness of the claws. Its bill is more like that of Archibuteo than like that of Aquila.

The North American and European races of the single species which occurs on the former continent may be distinguished as follows:—

Species and Races.

A. chrysaëtus. Wing, 23.00–27.00; tail, 14.00–16.00; culmen, 1.50–1.90; tarsus, 3.40–4.20; middle toe, 2.40–3.10. Third to fifth quill longest first shorter than seventh or eighth. Color blackish-brown, or umber-brown, nearly uniform, except on the tail; nuchal cape of lanceolate feathers, and tarsi of a paler and more tawny tint. Adult. Tail transversely clouded with ashy, and not white at the base; feathers of the body not distinctly white beneath the surface. Young. Tail with the basal half plain white, the terminal portion plain blackish; feathers of the body distinctly white beneath the surface. Hab. Nearctic and Palæarctic Realms.

Tarsi of adult pale umber; of young, dirty whitish. Hab. Palæarctic Realm … var. chrysaëtus.92

Tarsi of adult deep umber; of young light brown. Hab. Nearctic Realm … var. canadensis.

Aquila chrysaëtus, var. canadensis (Linn.).
GOLDEN EAGLE; RING-TAILED EAGLE.

Aquila chrysaëtus (not of Linn.!), Rich. & Sw. F. B. A. II, 1831, 12.—Jard. (Wils.) Am. Orn. II, 1832, 304.—Bonap. List, 1838, 2.—Aud. Synop. 1839, 9.—De Kay, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 4, pl. vi, f. 14 (Juv.).—Cass. B. Cal. & Tex. 109.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 55 (in part).—Brewer, Oölogy, 1857, 45.—Coues, Key, 1872, 219. Falco chrysaëtus, (Linn.) Max. Cab. J. 1858, VI, 9.—Blas. Ber. XVI, Vers. Deutsch. Orn. 1862, 83 (“absolutely identical with European”). Falco canadensis, Linn. S. N. (ed. 10), 1766, 88. Aquila canadensis, Wils. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. lv, f. 1.—Heerm. P. R. R. Rept. II, 1855, 30.—Cass. Birds N. Am. 1858, 41.—Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 13.—Gray, Hand List, I, 40. Falco niger, Gmel. S. N. 359. Aquila nobilis, Pall. Zoög. Ros. As. 1811. Aquila fulva (not of Linn.!), Nutt. Man. Orn. 1833, 62.—Peab. B. Mass. 1841, 71.

Sp. Char. Adult male (24,167, Fort Crook, North California, Dec. 25; D. F. Parkinson). General plumage fuliginous-black, this deepest on the head, throat, lower surface in general, under surface of the wings, back, scapulars, shoulders, secondaries, primaries, and rump; middle and secondary wing-coverts, upper and under tail-coverts, tarsi and inside of tibiæ, considerably paler, inclining to light umber. Lanceolate feathers of occiput and nape with the exposed portions light fulvous, the shafts black; dusky beneath the surface. Tail black, somewhat paler on basal half, and with about three irregular, obsolete zigzag bands of pale brown (on two middle feathers ashy); no concealed white on breast. Fifth quill longest; third and fourth intermediate between fifth and sixth; second considerably shorter than sixth; first intermediate between eighth and ninth. Length, 31.60; extent, 78.30. Wing, 24.50; tail, 13.40; culmen, 1.60; from base of cere, 2.15; tarsus, 3.85; middle toe, 2.40; hind claw (chord) 1.90.

Adult female (12,006, Washington, D. C., March 7, 1869; C. Drexler). Almost exactly like the male. Black covering forehead, ear-coverts, cheeks, chin, throat, foreneck, and under parts generally (except the tarsi, inside and front of tibiæ, and lower tail-coverts, which are light fulvous, the tarsi palest), more tawny than in the male. The lanceolate, pale, tawny feathers, which in the male cover only the occiput and neck, in the female extend forward over the top of the head, leaving the forehead only blackish. Upper parts and tail as in the male. Fourth quill longest; third slightly shorter than fifth; second intermediate between sixth and seventh; first intermediate between eighth and ninth. Wing, 26.00; tail, 14.25; culmen, 1.70; tarsus, 3.80; middle toe, 2.70; hind claw, 2.15; inner toe, 1.90; outer, 2.00; inner claw, 1.80; middle, 1.35; outer, 1.10.

Young male (49,684, Camp Grant, near Tucson, Arizona, July 10, 1867; Dr. E. Palmer). Continuous deep sepia-black, with a purplish lustre; breast and scapulars with large concealed spots of pure white; lanceolate feathers of the “mane” dull brown, not conspicuously different from the throat; under surface of primaries showing much white basally, this most extended on inner feathers. Upper and under tail-coverts more brownish than the rump, the basal portion white. Basal half or more of tail white (more ashy on outer feathers), distinctly defined against the broad, pure black, terminal zone; tarsi dull white, clouded with dilute brownish; inside of tibiæ with feathers tipped with white.

Young female (older?) (9,121, Washington, D. C., Dec., 1856; B. Cross). Similar, but black more brown; “mane” as in adult; tarsi dull whitish brown; tail-coverts deep umber-brown; tail as in young male, but terminal band narrower, the white occupying nearly the basal two thirds. Wing, 25.70; tail, 14.75; culmen, 1.65; middle toe, 2.80; hind claw, 2.20.

Hab. Whole of North America north of Mexico; most common in mountainous regions.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 8; Philadelphia Academy, 2; Boston Society, 2; Cambridge Museum, 2; Coll. R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 16.

Measurements.
Sex. Wing. Tail. Culmen. Tarsus. Middle Toe. Specimens.
23.00–24.50 14.00–15.00 1.50–1.62 3.65–3.80 2.40–2.80 5
25.00–27.00 15.00–16.00 1.68–1.85 4.15–4.20 2.55–2.80 7

A young male from Massachusetts (No. 39, Lexington; Dr. S. Kneeland), in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural History, has the tail plain black, the extreme base and tip white.

Though the Golden Eagles of North America can be distinguished by the characters given in the diagnosis on p. 312 from those of Europe, the differences are appreciable only on direct comparison. The American bird is darker in all its shades of color, the difference being most marked in the young plumage, which in var. chrysaëtus has the tarsal features nearly white, and in var. canadensis light brown, the brown of other portions being also considerably darker. The American bird appears to be rather the larger.

Habits. The Ring-tailed or Golden Eagle of North America is found throughout the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from New Mexico to the higher Arctic regions.

In its geographical distribution, the Golden Eagle of North America appears to be chiefly confined to the mountainous regions, and the more northern portions, but to be nowhere abundant. Sir John Richardson saw but few individuals in the Arctic regions, nor does he appear ever to have met with its nest. Individual birds on the Atlantic coast have been occasionally obtained,—once as far south as Philadelphia, twice at Washington,—but very rarely. Several specimens appear to have been obtained among the mountains of New Mexico by Dr. Henry’s party.

Although not mentioned by either Dr. Heermann or Dr. Gambel in their lists of the birds of California, it was found in Oregon by Dr. Townsend, and is said by Dr. Cooper to be quite common in almost all parts of California during the colder months. It is, however, much less numerous than the White-headed Eagle. It is very much more a mountain bird, and its descent into the plains or to the sea-coast is said to be quite rare. Dr. Adolphus Heermann, in his Report of the survey between Fort Yuma and San Francisco, speaks of seeing one of these birds near Livermore Pass, and of meeting others in Northern California, and of an individual killed in the mountains near Mokelumne River. He regarded it, both in that state and elsewhere, as a rare and wild bird. It is not mentioned as occurring in Greenland. It was found breeding in Napa Valley, Cal., by Mr. F. Gruber.

Aquila chrysaëtus.

A bird was secured alive in Brighton, near Boston, in 1837, by being taken in a trap which had been set for another purpose. Its occurrence, however, near the sea-coast, is very rare, and even among the mountains it is never found except in occasional pairs. It breeds in the mountainous portions of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, and was formerly not unfrequent among the cliffs of the Hudson River. Steamboats and railroads have, however, driven this wild bird from its romantic retreats in that quarter. In Franconia, N. H., for quite a number of years, a pair occupied a nest on an inaccessible rock, near the top of a mountain, known as Eagle Cliff, in sight of, and opposite, the Profile House. Repeated efforts have been made to reach its nest, but thus far without success. In the summer of 1855 a renewed attempt was made to scale the precipice over which the shelving rock, on which the nest stands, projects. A party was formed, and although they succeeded in ascending the mountain, which had never been achieved before, they could reach only a point beyond and above, not the nest itself. The attempt to pass to it was abandoned as too perilous. The party reported a large collection of bones in its immediate vicinity, with other evidences of the accumulated plunder of many years, as well as a plentiful supply of fresh food at the time visited.

Without here seeking to affect the question of identity of species, it is interesting to note certain peculiarities in the European Golden Eagle so far not noticed or of rare occurrence in the American birds. Mr. I. W. P. Orde in the Ibis of 1861 (p. 112), gives a very interesting account of a pair of Golden Eagles, which the previous season built their nest in a large Scotch fir-tree, in a wood on the southern bank of Glen Lyon, in Perthshire, within a few hundred yards of Meggerine Castle. Four eggs were laid, two of which were hatched. The nest was one of the Eagles’ own construction, and is specially interesting from being in such near proximity to human habitations. Mr. Tristram (Ibis, 1859, p. 283, in his valuable note on the birds of North Africa), while he never observed this Eagle in any of the cliffs among the mountain ranges of the desert, found it almost gregarious, so abundant was it among the Dayets. In one wood he saw no less than seven pairs of the Eagles, each pair with a nest. There were, besides, many unoccupied nests, and, indeed, very few terebinths of any size were without a huge platform of sticks on the topmost boughs. The birds were undisturbed, and consequently very fearless. On the other hand Mr. Salvin, in the same volume (p. 180) among the mountains of Eastern Atlas, describes very different manner of life in the same birds. “Whatever rock a pair may choose for their eyrie, there they reign alone in dignified solitude, nor do they allow a single Vulture, Kite, or indeed any other species of rapacious bird, to occupy with their nest a single spot in the same rock, however eligible for the purpose; nor are these other species ever to be seen in the haunts of their exclusive majesties. The whole southern precipice at Djebel Dekma was thus tenanted by a single pair of this Eagle, as also several other rocks that came under our notice. Instances of the Golden Eagle building in trees were by no means of unfrequent occurrence.”

12006, ♀. NAT. SIZE.

Aquila canadensis.

The extreme southern range of the European bird, its gregarious habit, and the frequency of its building in trees, are all peculiarities not observed in the American form. They are not necessarily conclusive, but are at least suggestive.

The Golden Eagle in this country usually constructs its nest on the sides of steep, rocky crags, where its materials are coarsely heaped together on a projecting shelf of rock. These consist of large sticks, loosely arranged, and lined with other softer materials. In rare instances they are said to build on trees, where rocky cliffs are not to be met with. The eggs are usually three in number; sometimes two, or only one. Mr. Audubon describes them as measuring 3.50 inches in length by 2.50 in breadth; the shell thick and smooth, dull white, brushed over with undefined patches of brown, which are most numerous at the larger end. This description is not quite accurate in regard to size. The European egg is presumed to be larger than the American, yet the largest I have ever seen measures but 3.19 inches in length by 2.31 in breadth. An egg of the European bird in the British Museum, and another represented in Hewitson’s British Oölogy, which closely resembled it, were marked over the entire surface with small but distinct blotches of reddish-brown on a white ground. One in my collection, taken in Scotland, is nearly unmarked. A distinctly bluish-white ground is faintly stained with a few very obscure markings of slate and purplish-brown.

Mr. MacFarlane furnishes very full and interesting notes and observations on the habits of our canadensis, as attentively studied by him in the neighborhood of Anderson River, near the Arctic Ocean. Our limits will only permit us to give a summary of his valuable memoranda. In a large majority of instances the nests were built against the face of a steep bank, some sixty or seventy feet from the ground, and about thirty from the summit. They were very strongly constructed with dry sticks, usually of willow, and formed a platform on the top, in the centre of which the eggs were found on a bed composed of moss, hay, and feathers. These platforms were usually about six by seven feet, and ranged from four to six in height. It is said to be “not very scarce in that quarter,” and to be “a resident, in the summer, of the entire Arctic coast and rivers.” Mention is made of ten nests observed by him, and eggs taken therefrom. In several instances these eggs were white and unspotted, exciting his doubts whether they might belong to the leucocephalus.

According to Mr. MacFarlane they feed on ducks, mice, and other small animals, partridges, and the fawn of the reindeer. In confinement they are fierce and nearly untamable, though they readily eat the food that is given them, whether fish or meat. Even when taken young from the nest they evince the same fearless and intractable disposition. In one instance a young female killed its older companion by piercing it with her talons. When first observed, she was standing on and plucking the feathers from the body of the slain bird. This was the second bird this same ferocious, but comparatively tame, Eagle had thus destroyed. When the cage was removed outside, though the weather was very cold, the Eagles did not seem to mind it much, but exercised themselves with jumping off and on their roosting-pole, and seemed very much interested in all that was taking place within the Fort square. They kept their plumage in a cleanly condition, and were generally a very clean bird in all respects. During the fine weather the Eagles were more lively than on other occasions. When feeding they drooped both wings, and, if disturbed, arched their necks and moved their heads in a threatening manner, spreading out their tails like a fan. They grasped the meat or fish in the talons of either leg, and tore it with their beaks. After feeding, they invariably removed any blood or other impurities that may have adhered to the beak by scratching it with their talons or rubbing it against the bars of their cage. Several of these birds, in confinement, especially the female referred to, when their cage was approached, would endeavor to attack Mr. MacFarlane, descending from their sleeping-pole and making a rush at the front bars of the cage, spreading the wings and flapping them with great force, and making active demonstrations with beak and talons. Occasionally they would get out of their cages; then it was no easy matter to get them back again, as, when approached, they would throw themselves on their backs and thrust out their talons in the most formidable manner. They nest as early as the last of April or early in May, as largely developed embryos were found on the 27th of May. When their nests were pillaged they generally deserted them; but in one instance, where the female had been snared upon her nest, and the eggs taken, the same nest was occupied the following season by the male with another mate. The new mate was shot, and proved to be a mature bird. Almost invariably the male birds were too wary to be either shot or taken in a snare. Two of the nests of this bird, pointed out by the Indians, appeared to have been used for several years, and had been known to their discoverers for six or seven years previous. The nests taken were in about latitude 69° 30′.

In one particular case a nest had been discovered two years previously by MacFarlane’s Esquimo interpreter. It had been occupied that season, and a pair of Eagles had been recognized as its inmates. In 1863 the nest was known to have been reoccupied, though he did not visit it. On the 17th of May, 1864, he went to it and found both Eagles engaged in repairing it. The female appeared to act as the builder, and the male as the carrier of the materials, as well as the provider of provisions. The nest was not complete, and contained two half-eaten Ptarmigans, but no eggs. It was built against the face of a steep bank of a small stream, and was of considerable bulk. When first constructed, the nest of this Eagle is comparatively small, but as it is renovated every season, it ultimately becomes large and bulky. A quantity of dry sticks and twigs are laid lengthways over the greater portion of the platform of the previous season, and the spaces between are filled up by smaller twigs, mosses, and hay, and the centre is then covered with the two latter ingredients, intermixed with deer’s hair, etc. This annual addition varies in thickness from three to eighteen inches. In no instance did Mr. MacFarlane find or hear of any accumulation of bones or other débris of food either on or in the neighborhood of the nests. In three instances the nests were constructed in the tops of tall pines. In these cases the sandy nature of the soil did not favor their building on the sides of cliffs.

The “Mountain Eagle,” as this species is called throughout the western regions of the United States, was found by Mr. Ridgway to be a common species throughout the Great Basin along the line of the 40th parallel. It was daily seen soaring about the mountains, and nested on inaccessible cliffs. A pair—the female leading—were observed to give chase to a Sage Hen (Centrocercus urophasianus), chasing her on the wing until the fugitive dropped down to the ground from exhaustion, when she was picked up by the foremost of the Eagles, who then flew off together to the summit of the mountain range (the East Humboldt) near by, where they probably had their nest.

An egg of this bird, taken by Mr. R. MacDonald among the mountains west of the Lower Mackenzie River, measures 2.60 inches in length by 2.18 in breadth. The ground-color is of a rich pinkish cream-color, boldly dashed with large blotches of three or four varying shades of umber-brown, intermingled with a few finer markings of a lighter shade of brown, and a few clouded markings of a purplish-slate. These markings are grouped and confluent about the smaller end. Other specimens vary to whitish, with faint obsolete blotches.

Genus HALIAËTUS, Savigny.

Gen. Char. Form robust, and organization powerful, as in Aquila; size large. Bill very large, usually somewhat inflated, the chord of the arch of the culmen more than twice the length of the cere on top; commissure with a more or less distinct festoon and sinuation behind it. Nostril oval, obliquely vertical. Feet robust and strong, the tarsus less than one and a half times the middle toe; tarsus feathered in front and on the sides for about one half its length; front of the tarsus and top of the toes with an imperfectly continuous series of transverse scutellæ, entirely interrupted in the region of the digito-tarsal joint; the other portions covered with roundish, somewhat granular, scales, these larger on the posterior face. Claws large, strongly curved, and more obtuse, and less graduated in size, than in Aquila. No trace of a web between outer and middle toes. Wing very large, the primaries well developed and strong; third to fifth quill longest; first longer than the ninth; outer five to six with inner webs deeply emarginated. Tail variable in length and shape, usually short and rounded, cuneate and with fourteen feathers in H. pelagicus, and nearly even, and with twelve feathers, in H. macei, the rest all having twelve feathers, varying in form with the species. Feathers of the neck, all round, lanceolate.

The species of this very strongly marked genus vary between great extremes in the details of their external structure; but these variations I consider to be mainly specific, though two well-defined subgeneric divisions should be made, one to include the Old World H. leucogaster, H. vocifer, and H. icthyætus, which have five, instead of six, outer quills, with their inner webs cut, and the tarsus with the frontal and posterior rows of broad transverse scutellæ nearly as well developed and continuous as in Buteo. The last of these species has the claws nearly uniform in size, and contracted and rounded underneath almost as much as in Pandion; but the other species are less so, each differing in this respect, so that I consider this as only indicating the greatest perfection in the specialization of the piscatorial type of modified structure. In the possession of fourteen tail-feathers, its very large bill, naked lores, and general aspect, the H. pelagicus shows an approach to the Old World Vultures.

About nine species are known, of which only two belong to North America, one of them (H. leucocephalus) being peculiar to that continent. Tropical America is without a single representation of the genus. The majority of the species belong to the Indian region, only the H. albicilla and H. pelagicus belonging to the Palæarctic Realm, the former representing the western, and the latter peculiar to the eastern, district of that zoögeographical division; it is the former which straggles into the Nearctic fauna. The habits of the Sea Eagles differ considerably from those of the true Eagles (Aquila) in very important respects; they frequent the shores of the sea, lakes, or large rivers, instead of mountainous portions, and feed chiefly—some of the species entirely—on fish. Those of the subgenus Polioaëtus are almost precisely like Pandion in their habits.

52509,♀ ? ¼

9128,♀. ¼

9128,♀. ¼

28100.(♀ ?) ¼

9128,♀ ? ¼

The three closely allied species belonging to the northern portions of the Northern Hemisphere may be distinguished by the characters given in the following synopsis.

Species and Races.

Common Characters. Adult. Bill, cere, and iris yellow. Tail, and sometimes the head and neck, white. Young. Bill and cere black; iris dark brown. Tail, head, and neck, blackish.

28100,(♀ ?). NAT. SIZE.

28100,(♀ ?). ¼

Haliaëtus pelagicus.

A. Tail of fourteen feathers, cuneate, or graduated, for nearly half its length. Nostril with its lower end acute, bevelled gradually to the level of the cere; upper outline of the cere very convex; lore naked.

1. H. pelagicus.93 Wing, 24.50–26.00; tail, 13.50–16.00; culmen, 2.60; depth of bill, 1.80; cere, on top, 1.10; tarsus, 3.50; middle toe, 2.95. Adult. Forehead, greater wing-coverts, abdomen, and tail, white; other portions blackish-brown (Auct.). Young. Dark umber or blackish-brown, the feathers of the head and neck with lighter shaft-streaks; tertials (except at ends) and basal third, or more, of inner webs of tail-feathers, white; tail-coverts much mixed with the same. Hab. Northeastern Asia.

B. Tail of twelve feathers, only slightly rounded. Lower end of the nostril rounded, opening more abruptly inward; upper outline of the cere nearly straight; lores scantily feathered.

2. H. albicilla. Wing, 23.00–28.00; tail, 11.50–16.00; culmen, 2.05–2.20; tarsus, 3.30–3.80; middle toe, 2.50–2.95; depth of bill about 1.45; cere, on top, .85. Adult. Head and neck pale grayish-fulvous, or dirty yellowish-gray, not abruptly lighter than the body. Tail, only, pure white. Rest of the plumage, including the tail-coverts, dark grayish-brown, inclining to blackish on the primaries. Young. Prevailing tint of the upper parts light isabella-color, or pale grayish-cinnamon, each feather having a terminal triangular spot of blackish-brown. Breast soiled white, with broad stripes of brownish-black; rest of the lower parts nearly uniform fulvous-brown, the tibiæ darker. Hab. Europe; Egypt; Greenland.

3. H. leucocephalus. Wing, 20.00–26.00; tail, 10.50–15.50; culmen, 1.85–2.20; tarsus, 2.65–3.70; middle toe, 2.35–3.10; depth of bill about 1.30; cere, on the top, .80. Adult. Head and neck, tail and tail-coverts, pure white, immaculate (except in transition dress). Rest of the plumage brownish-black. Young. Brownish-black, showing much concealed white at the bases of the feathers; ground-color inclining to umber-brown on the upper surface; on the lower parts, the basal white much exposed and predominating, the blackish forming longitudinal, tear-shaped spots. Head and neck brownish-black, the penicillated feathers of the nape seldom with whitish points. Tail-feathers and primaries black, the inner webs usually more or less marked, longitudinally, with buffy-whitish. Hab. The whole of North America.

Sp. Char. Young female(?) (28,100, Amoor River; Mr. Burlingame). Form: very similar to H. albicilla and H. leucocephala, but bill altogether more robust, and feet rather less so, than in these. Tail, of fourteen feathers! graduated for about one half its length. Dimensions: About the size of the female of the two other species. Color: Generally dusky vandyke-brown, a medial line on the lanceolate feathers of the neck, and the border of the squamate ones of the tibiæ, decidedly lighter. Entire plumage white at the base, this exposed wherever the feathers are disarranged, and prevailing on the crissum. Tertials, basal half of inner webs of primaries, the whole tail, and upper tail-coverts, white with a yellowish tinge. Tertials, upper tail-coverts, and tail-feathers, with a large terminal spot of clear grayish-black; on the tail these form a rather irregular terminal zone, being on the middle feather narrower, and broken into fine blotches. Bill, cere, lore, and feet, yellow; end of upper mandible, and the claws, black. Wing-formula, 3, 4, 2, 5–6–7=1. Wing, 24.50; tail, 13.50; culmen, 2.60; depth of bill, 1.80; cere, on top, 1.10; tarsus, 3.50; middle toe, 2.95.

Haliaetus albicilla (Linn.).
GRAY SEA-EAGLE.

Aquila albicilla, Briss. Orn. I, 427, 1760.—Pall. Zoog. Ross. As. I, 345, 1811.—Benick. Isis, 1824, pp. 878, 892.—Swains. Classif. B. II, 207, 1837.—Kuhl. Beiträg. Zool. pt. i, p. 76 (anat.), 1820.—Tyzenhauz, Rev. Zoöl. 1848, p. 235.—Bailly, Orn. Sav. I, 110, 1853.—S. Longch. Faun. Belg. p. 53, 1842. Vultur albicilla, Linn. Syst. Nat. p. 123, 1766. Falco albicilla, Penn. Brit. Zoöl. p. 61, pl. A, 1812; ed. 8vo, 1812, I, 209, pl. xviii.—Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 253, 1789.—Lath. Ind. Orn. I, 9, 1790; Syn. I, 33, 1781; Supp. I, 11, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 46 A, 1821.—Odmann, Nov. Act. Soc. Ups, IV, 225.—Shaw, Zoöl. VII, 79, 1812.—Temm. Man. Orn. pt. i, 49; pt. iii, 26, 1820; Tab. Méth. p. 3, 1836.—Kittl. Kupf. Vög. pl. ii, f. 2, 1832.—Brunn. Orn. Bor. p. 3, 1764.—Faber, Prod. Island, Orn. p. 1, 1822.—Naum. Nat. Vög. Deutschl. ed. nov. I, 224, pls. xii, xiii, xiv, 1822; Nachtr. p. 330, pl. ix, f. 17.—Frisch, Vög. Deutschl. pl. lxix, 70, 1739. Haliaëtus albicilla, Cuv. Reg. Anim. (ed. 1), I, 315, 1817; (ed. 2), I, 336, 1829.—Benn. Gard. Zoöl. Soc. II, 33, 1831.—Wern. Atl. Ois. Eur. 1826.—Less. Man. Orn. I, 85, 1828.—Vig. Raffl. Life, p. 648. Selby, Brit. Orn. I, 18, pl. iii, iiix, 1833.—Gould, B. Eur. pl. x, 1837.—Bonap. Eur. & N. Am. B. p. 3, 1838; Cat. Ucc. Eur. p. 19, 1842; Consp. Av. p. 15, 1850; Rev. et Mag. Zoöl. p. 531, 1854.—Cass. B. Calif. & Tex. I, p. 111, 1854.—Gray, Gen. B. p. 3; ed. 2, p. 4; fol. sp. 1, pl. vii, fig. 8.—Brehm. Vög. Deutschl. I, 14, pl. iii, f. 1, 1831.—Cass. Birds N. Am. 43, 1858.—Sclat. Pr. Z. S. 1863, 257 (found in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia—this disproven!).—Elliot, Birds N. A. I. Haliaëtus albicilla, Gray, Hand List, I, 16, 1869. Aquila ossifraga, Briss. Orn. I, p. 437 (Juv.), 1760.—Kuhl, Beiträg. Zoöl. pt. i, p. 60, pl. iv, figs. 1, 3, 3; pl. v, f. 1. Falco ossifragus, Linn. Syst. Nat. p. 124, 1766.—Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 255, 1789.—Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 12, 1790; Syn. I, 30, 1781; Supp. I, 9, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 48 (Juv.), 1821.—Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 64, 1800.—Shaw, Zoöl. VII, pl. xviii, 1809.—Raffl. Linn. Tr. VIII, 277 (var.). Aquila leucocephala, Meyer, Taschenb. Deutsch. Vögelk. p. 16, 1810. Falco melanotus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 254, 1789. Falco albicaudus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 258, 1789. Falco hinularius, Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 15, 1790; Syn. I, 39, sp. 16, 1781; Gen. Hist. I, 47 B, 1821.—Shaw, Zoöl. VII, 80, 1809. Falco pygargus, Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 62, 1800. Falco albicilla borealis, Faber, Isis, 1827, p. 56; Prod. Island, Orn. p. 1, 1822. Haliætus nisus, Savig. Descr. Egyp. pt. i, 86, 1809.—Vieill. Faun. Franç. p. 10, pl. v, figs. 1, 2.—Degl. Mém. Soc. Sc. Lille, 1831, p. 213.—Less. Tr. Orn. p. 40, pl. viii, fig. 2, 1831.—Roux, Orn. Prod. I, 16, pl. ix, x, 1825.

Sp. Char. Adult male (56,034, Europe; Schlüter Collection). Plumage almost continuously umber-brown, becoming black on the primaries; on the head and neck approaching pale grayish-brown. Tail (but not the coverts) white, much mottled with dusky at base; shafts of the quills white. Wing-formula, 3–2=4–5–6, 1. Wing, 23.00; tail, 11.50; culmen, 2.20; depth of bill, 1.45; cere, above, .85; tarsus, 3.30; middle toe, 2.50; outer, 2.00; inner, 1.70; posterior, 1.40. Bill and feet yellow.

Young. Head and neck blackish-brown, feathers whitish beneath the surface, the long pencillate feathers of the nape tipped inconspicuously with the same; prevailing color of the upper surface isabella-color (much more reddish than in corresponding age of leucocephalus) each feather with a terminal triangular spot of blackish-brown; tertials more whitish. Secondaries rich dark brown; primaries deep black, their shafts dark brown. Tail brownish-black much spotted with isabella-color, or soiled creamy-white, this occupying most of the inner webs. Breast soiled white, each feather with a conspicuous broad medial stripe of brownish-black; abdomen more fulvous; tibiæ nearly uniform dark brown. Rump nearly uniform vinaceous-fulvous. Bill black. Feet yellow.

Male (56,037, North Europe; Schlütter Coll.). Wing, 26.00; tail, 12.50; culmen, 2.20.

Female (56,039, North of Europe; Schlütter Coll.). Wing, 28.00; tail, 16.00; culmen, 2.45; depth of bill, 1.55; cere above, .70; tarsus, 3.65; middle toe, 3.50.

Hab. Europe and in Greenland.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 3; Philadelphia Academy, 3; New York Museum, 2; Boston Society, 2; Cambridge Museum, 1. Total, 11.

Measurements.
Sex. Wing. Tail. Culmen. Tarsus. Middle Toe. Specimens.
♂ Ad. 23.00–24.00 11.50–0.00 2.10–2.20 3.30–3.70 2.50–2.85 2
♂ Juv. 24.75–26.00 12.50–0.00 2.05–2.20 3.80–0.00 2.70–0.00 2
♀ Juv. 27.80–28.00 14.00–16.00 2.20–2.45 3.50–3.65 2.95–3.50 2

Habits. The White-tailed or Gray Sea Eagle is common to the sea-coast of Europe, where it inhabits only the parts of the country adjacent to the sea, and rears its young on the cliffs. It occurs in Greenland, and is on that ground included in the fauna of North America. It has not yet been traced south of Greenland, nor has it been found in any part of our continent.

The Sea Eagle in Europe is rarely found inland. It builds its nest on rocky cliffs projecting over the water, on the shores of Scotland, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, Norway, Russia, etc. The nest is constructed of sticks, or, where these are not convenient, of seaweed. The eggs are two or three in number. Their ground-color is a clear white, usually unmarked, but occasionally stained with small, faint spots of light brown. The measurements of two in my collection, both from Scotland, but obtained at different times by H. F. Walter, Esq., of London, are as follows: Length 2.69 inches, breadth 2.19 inches; length 2.13 inches, breadth 2.25 inches.

Haliatus albicilla (Europe).

The following, in relation to their breeding and distribution, is taken from Mr. Yarrell’s excellent work on the Birds of Great Britain:—

“The White-tailed Eagle builds its nest on high rocks, and lays two eggs, about the same size of those of the Golden Eagle, but with very little or no red color on the white ground. The young are at first covered with a soiled white down, and even at this age the beaks and claws of the eaglets are of very large size. A pair of Golden Eagles have been known to rear their young in the same spot for eight seasons in succession; and Mr. Mudie has mentioned that, being thus attached to a particular locality, their young, when able to provide for themselves, are driven away by the parent birds to get their living elsewhere; but the more erratic White-tailed Eagles, quitting the breeding station when the season is ended, leave their young to forage over the district in which they have been raised. In confinement, the White-tailed Eagle sometimes becomes sociable.... One kept by Mr. Hoy laid three eggs in the same season; and a female in the possession of Mr. Selby laid an egg after having been kept in confinement twenty years.... The White-tailed Eagle breeds in the Hebrides, in Orkney and Shetland. Mr. Dunn, in his useful Guide to these latter islands, names the particular localities in which they may be found, but states that they are much more numerous in winter than in summer. This accords with the opinion of Mr. Temminck and others that this species returns to the southward from high northern latitudes as the season advances.... This Eagle frequents Denmark, Sweden, the west coast of Norway, and from thence as far north as Iceland and Greenland, but is not found in North America. Mr. Temminck believes that this Eagle follows the flocks of geese that annually resort to the Arctic regions in summer to rear their young. It is found in Siberia, at Lake Baikal, and inhabits Russia, from whence to the southward it is spread over the European continent generally.”

Haliaëtus leucocephalus (Linn.).
BALD EAGLE; AMERICAN EAGLE.

Aquila leucocephala, Briss. Orn. I, 422, 1760.—Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. iii, 1807.—Pallas, Zoog. Ross. As. I, 347, 1811.—Swainson, Classif. B. II, 207, 1837; Anim. Menag. 106, 1838.—S. Longch. Faun. Belg. 53, 1842. Falco leucocephalus, Linn. Syst. Nat. 124, 1766.—Gmel. Syst. Nat. 255, 1789.—Lath. Ind. Orn. 11, 1790; Syn. I, 29, 1781; Supp. p. 9, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 45, 1821.—Penn. Arct. Zoöl. pp. 194 and 196, 1785.—Wils. Am. Orn. pl. xxxvi, 1808.—Temm. Man. Orn. pt. i, 52; pt. ii, 27, 1820; Tab. Méth. 3, 1836.—Shaw, Zoöl. VII, 78, 1809.—Bonap. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 26.—Green, Silliman’s Am. Journ. IV, 89; Isis, 1832, p. 1136.—Aud. Orn. Biog. I, 160, 1831; Birds Am. pl. xxxi, 1831.—Brewer, (Wils.) Am. Orn. Synop. 683, 1852. Haliaëtus leucocephalus, Savig.Cuv. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 326.—Less. Tr. Orn. p. 40, 1831.—Steph. Zoöl. XIII, pt. 2, p. 13, 1826.—James. (Wils.) Am. Orn. I, 21, 33, 1808.—Jard. (Wils.) Orn. II, 89, 307.—Rich. F. B. A. II, 15, 1831.—Bennett, Gard. Zoöl. Soc. II, 37, 1831.—Bonap. Eur. & N. Am. B. 3, 1838; Cat. Ucc. Eur. 19, 1842; Consp. Av. 15, 1850; Rev. et Mag. Zoöl. 1854, p. 531.—Max. Cab. Journ. VI, 1858, 3.—Blakiston, Ibis, III, 1861, 320.—Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 328 (Texas, breeding).—Gould, B. Eur. pl. xi, 1837.—Gray, Gen. B. fol. sp. 3, 1844; List Birds Brit. Mus. 2, 1844.—Aud. Synopsis Birds Am. 10, 1839.—Nuttall, Man. Orn. U. S. & Canad. 72, 1833.—Peale, U. S. Expl. Exp. 71, 1848.—Peab. Birds Mass. 73, 1841.—Giraud, Birds Long Island, 9, 1844.—Woodh. Sit. Expl. Zuñ. & Colorad. 59, 1853.—Cassin, B. Calif. & Tex. I, 111, 1854.—De Kay, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 5, pl. i, f. 1, 1844.—Heerm. P. R. R. Rept. VII, 30, 1857.—Newb. P. R. R. Rept. VI, 75, 1857.—Wern. Atl. Ois. Eur. 1826.—Brehm, Vögel Deutschl. 17, 1831.—Cass. Birds N. Am. 1858, 43.—Coop. & Suck. P. R. R. Rept. XII, ii, 151, 1860.—Coues, Prod. B. Ariz. 13, 1866. Haliaëtus leucocephalus, Gray, Hand List, I, 16 (1869). Falco candidus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. 258, 1789.—Lath. Ind. Orn. 14, 1790; Syn. I, 36, 1781; Gen. Hist. I, 240, 1821.—Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 51, 1800.—Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. I, 30, 1807. Falco pygargus, Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 62, 1800. Falco ossifragus, Wils. Am. Orn. pl. lv, f. 2 (Juv.), 1808. Falco leucogaster, Lath. Gen. Hist. I, 242, 1821. Vultur albicilla, Faber, Faun. Grœnl. 53, 1780. Falco washingtoni, Aud. Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 1, I, 1828, 115.—Ib. Orn. Biog. I, 58; Birds Am. pl. xi.—Brewer, (Wils.) Am. Orn. 683.—James. (Wils.) Am. Orn. IV, 261. Haliaëtus washingtoni, Jard. (Wils.) Am. Orn. II, 92.—Bonap. List, 1838, 3.—Gray, Gen. fol. sp. 4.—Aud. Synop. Birds Am. 10.—Cass. B. Cal. & Tex. 110.—Ib. Birds N. Am. 1858, 42.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 51, No. 82. Falco washingtonianus, Nutt. Man. pl. lxvii. Haliaëtus leucocephalus, Brewer, Oölogy, 1851, 48, pl. iv, f. 37.