of the head, when contrasted with, the dark colour of the rest of
the plumage. The appellation, however, being now almost
universal, is retained in the following pages.

This distinguished bird, as he is the most beautiful of his tribe in
this part of the world, and the adopted emblem of our country, is
entitled to particular notice. The celebrated Cataract of Niagara is a
noted place of resort for the bald eagle, as well on account of the
fish procured there, as for the numerous carcasses of squirrels, deer,
bears, and various other animals, that, in their attempts to cross the
river above the Falls, have been dragged into the current, and
precipitated down that tremendous gulf, where, among the rocks that
bound the Rapids below, they furnish a rich repast for the vulture,
the raven, and the bald eagle, the subject of the present account. He
has been long known to naturalists, being common to both continents,
and occasionally met with from a very high northern latitude, to the
borders of the torrid zone, but chiefly in the vicinity of the sea,
and along the shores and cliffs of our lakes and large rivers. Formed
by nature for braving the severest cold; feeding equally on the
produce of the sea, and of the land; possessing powers of flight
capable of outstripping even the tempests themselves; unawed by any
thing but man; and, from the ethereal heights to which he soars,
looking abroad, at one glance, on an immeasurable expanse of forests,
fields, lakes, and ocean, deep below him, he appears indifferent to
the little localities of change of seasons; as, in a few minutes, he
can pass from summer to winter, from the lower to the higher regions
of the atmosphere, the abode of eternal cold, and from thence descend,
at will, to the torrid, or the arctic regions of the earth. He is,
therefore, found at all seasons, in the countries he inhabits; but
prefers such places as have been mentioned above, from the great
partiality he has for fish.

In procuring these, he displays, in a very singular manner, the genius
and energy of his character, which is fierce, contemplative, daring,
and tyrannical; attributes not exerted but on particular occasions,
but, when put forth, overpowering all opposition. Elevated on the high
dead limb of some gigantic tree that commands a wide view of the
neighbouring shore and ocean, he seems calmly to contemplate the
motions of the various feathered tribes that pursue their busy
avocati