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Fish Eagle and Nest of Young
(321) above the Hudson and Susquehanna, he Now is the time to witness a display of attracts the eye of the intelligent voyager, the Eagle's powers. He glides through and adds great interest to the scenery. the air like a fallen star, and, like a flash At the great Cataract of Niagara, the of lightning, comes upon the timorous world's wonder, there rises from the gulf quarry, which now, in agony and despair, into which the Fall of the Horse-shoe dc- seeks, by various manœuvres, to elude the scends, a stupendous column of smoke, or grasp of his cruel talons. It mounts, spray, reaching to the heavens, and moving doubles, and willingly would plunge into off in large black clouds according to the the stream, were it not prevented by the direction of the wind, forming a very Eagle, which, long possessed of the striking and majestic appearance. The knowledge that, by such a stratagem, the Eagles are here seen sailing about, some- swan might escape him, forces it to times losing themselves in this thick remain in the air, by attempting to strike column, and again reappearing in another it with his talons from beneath. The hope place, with such ease and elegance of of escape is soon given up by the swan. It motion, as renders the whole truly sub- has already become much weakened, and lime.
High o'er the watery uproar, silent seen, Sailing sedate in majesty serene, Now midst the pillared spray sublimely lost, And now, emerging, down the rapids tossed, Glides the Bald Eagle, gazing, calm and slow, O'er all the horrors of the scene below; Intent alone to sate himself with blood, From the torn victims of the raging flood. its strength fails at the sight of the courage and swiftness of his antagonist. Its last gasp is about to escape, when the ferocious Eagle strikes with its talons the underside of its wing, and forces the bird to fall upon the nearest shore.
Darting Down upon His Prey.
And, again, when two of these Eagles are hunting, in concert, some bird which Audubon describes a Bald Eagle pur- has alighted on the water, this writer suing a swan, as follows: The next mo- says: At other times, when these Eagles, inent, however, the wild trumpet-like sailing in search of prey, discover a sound of a yet distant but approaching goose, a duck, or a swan, that has alighted swan is heard; a shriek from the female on the water, they accomplish its destruc- Eagle comes across the stream; for she is tion in a manner that is worthy of our fully as alert as her mate. The snow- attention. Well aware that the waterwhite bird is now in sight; her long neck fowl have it in their power to dive at is stretched forward; her eye is on the their approach, and thereby elude their watch, vigilant as that of her enemy; her attempts upon them, they ascend in the large wings seem with difficulty to sup- air, in opposite directions, over the lake port the weight of her body, although or river on which the object which they they flap incessantly. So irksome do her are desirous of possessing has been obexertions seem, that her very leg's are served. Both reach a certain height, imspread beneath her tail, to aid her in her mediately after which one of them glides flight. She approaches; the Eagle has with great swiftness toward the prey; marked her for his prey. As the swan is the latter, meantime, aware of the Eagle's passing the dreaded pair, the male bird intention, dives the moment before he starts from his perch, in full preparation, reaches the spot. for the chase, with an awful scream.
The pursuer then rises in the air, and is met byits mate, which glides toward the water bird that has just emerged to breathe, and forces it to plunge again beneath the surface, to escape the talons of this second assailant. The first Eagle is now poising itself in the place where its mate formerly was, and rushes anew, to force the quarry to make another plunge.
By thus alternately gliding, in rapid and oftenrepeated rushes, over the ill-fated bird, they soon fatigue it, when it stretches out its neck, swims deeply, and makes for the shore in the hope of concealing itself among the rank weeds. But this is of no avail; for the Eagles follow it in all its motions; and the moment it ap. proaches the margin, one of them
