MAJESTIC BIRD 

 

Bald Eagle - King of the Air!


 

 

Eagle

His tail is white

His head is white

Yellow for his beak to bite

Yellow on his feet to fight.

 

 

 


     "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their]strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Isaiah 40:31



 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

"As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:  

 So the LORD alone did lead him,"

Deuteronomy 32:11, 12



 


  This is Amazing. It is no wonder there are Scriptural references to the eagle!

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

And there is no wonder the bald eagle has such a significant symbolism to our country. 



   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 When it rains, most birds head for shelter.

The eagle is the only bird that, in order to avoid the rain,

starts flying above the clouds.


An amazing tidbit about the Eagle's eyesight: The eagle can probably identify a rabbit moving almost a mile away.

Meaning, an eagle flying at an altitude of 1000 feet over open country could spot prey over an area of almost 3 square miles from a fixed position.


No wonder God wants us to spread our wings and 

soar with eagles.




 

Bald Eagle


 

Gier Eagle



 

Black Eagle







  THE EAGLE.


DID you ever see an eagle? Perhaps not, for the "king of birds" does not come to visit us, like the robin and the sparrow. His home is on some cliff among the mountains, or in the top of a tall forest tree. He   delights to soar far up toward the blazing sun, where no other bird can follow him. 

With his keen, bright eyes he can look on the sun at noon-day; and when far beyond our sight in the blue sky, he can see the animals moving on the plain below him, and he will rapidly descend, to pounce upon his prey. What powerful muscles he must have, to endure such flights day after day for many years, and still be as strong as in youth!

Eagles are supposed to be very long-lived, reaching, perhaps, a hundred years.


After the eagle has chosen his mate, he remains true and kind to her till death. 

The old birds are very fond of their eaglets, and will defend them with their lives. 

But the eagle is fierce and cruel toward other creatures, and in spite of his royal title he is a robber and a coward. He often obtains his food by stealing from other birds, and he has so little courage that a bird no larger than a sparrow will attack him boldly and put him to flight.

A story is told of an eagle which caught a wild duck, and fearing that some friend might want a bite, took it off by himself on an iceberg, where he ate it alone in his selfishness; but it cost him his life, for when he would go back to his friends, he found his feet frozen to the ice, and all his fluttering and screaming could not release him; he died before the next morning.

Selfishness brings its own punishment, with birds as well as with human beings.




THE lambs of Jesus who are they 

But children that believe and pray; 

That keep God's laws, and ask his grace, 

And seek a heavenly dwelling-place.






 





 



THE KING OF BIRDS. 



HERE we have a picture of the eagle, the king of birds. Would you not like to hear something about him?  Eagles are very large birds, quite often measuring three and one-half feet from the head to the tail, and nine feet from the tip of one wing to the other. You can see in the picture that they have very strong, hooked beaks, and powerful claws. The tail is short and stiff, and their legs are feathered down to the toes. The head and neck are so thickly covered with feathers that they come out over the eyes, making a kind of roof to protect them from the sun. The beak is covered at its base by a yellow skin, and in this skin are the nostrils, through which the bird breathes. You can see them in the picture. 

Did you ever watch a bird asleep, and see how well he kept his balance, and did not fall off from his round perch? 

And you have often wondered how he could sit there so easily, haven't you?

Perhaps you have watched some of your hens when they were walking across the barnyard. If so, you have noticed that when biddy raised her leg, her toes all drew in, and that as soon as she put her leg down straight, her toes all flattened out again. People who have studied a great deal about birds and fowls tell us that the cords in a bird's leg are so fixed that when he bends his leg, he cannot keep his toes straight if he should want to, and that when he puts his leg out straight, his toes will straighten out too. 

Now, when the bird is asleep on his perch, his weight bends his legs, and so makes his toes curl round the roost all the tighter; and the sounder asleep the bird gets, the tighter he will cling to his perch. 

This curious power of his claws is what enables the eagle to hold his prey so firmly. When he is away up almost out of sight, he can see down on the plain, and know when there is anything there for him to eat. Should he see any game, he comes down so silently and rapidly that he captures his prey before they are aware. If you look in the picture, you may see the hunters in the distance, almost specks, they are so far away. They are on a deer hunt, and the eagle is on one, too. 

He has probably been sailing up above the hunters' heads for a long time, watching for a chance to get a meal. At length he pounces down upon this deer. He strikes his claws, or talons, as they are called, into the deer, and sinking down with all his weight, clasps, them far into the sides of the animal. He does not let go his hold until the deer has ceased to breathe; then he commences to tear him to pieces. The eagle's mate is probably close by to help him eat the deer. The eagle hardly ever uses his beak to kill his prey. 

He is very fond of fish, but is not a good fisher, so he steals from other birds. Soaring far above a river or lake, he sees below him a company of fish hawks quietly fishing in the water. With a piercing scream the eagle swoops down and lights on the top of a tall tree. He keeps quiet now, and the fish hawks think there is no danger. Watching his chance, he soon sees a fish hawk rising out of the water with a silvery fish in his claws. Suddenly darting toward the fish, the eagle seizes it in his talons, and flies away with his prize. He is so much stronger than the hawk that the poor bird is glad to get rid of his enemy so easily. 

Eagles build very curious nests. They usually choose for a building spot some ledge of rock or the top of a tall pine, where nothing can climb up to disturb them. Their nests are made of sticks rudely put together, with an inside lining of moss or hay. They do not build new nests every year, as many birds do, but come back to the old one, and build another on top of that, so that after a time- their nests are piled up several feet deep. 

They lay but two or three eggs. The little eaglets are rather homely, the beak and claws being much larger accordingly than the rest of the body. The eagle is very good to his family, and keeps them well supplied with food. He never quarrels with his wife, and they live together to a great age very happily. 






W. E. L.