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18S Till*, CONDOR VoL. XI ested in watching to see if this greater size of the female was accompanied by a corresponding courage when I invaded the n?st; and in those cases where I had positive means of identification I usually found that it was the female that proved the most threatening, altho she might be away from the nest hunting when the male gave the alarm. The dark bodi? of the eagles bleuded very well with the dark green conifers I NEST OF NORTHERN BALD EAGLE ON ADMIRALTY ISLAND, ALASKA in which they often percht; and the birds would have been past by many times had it not been for their white heads. This feature was the most use- ful recognition-mark about the bird, as it could be seen at three hundred yards, wheu the dark body could uot be distinguisht from the sur- rounding foliage. We once saw more than fifteen eagles sitting iu ?i single spruce tree waiting for a school of herring, and at a distance it appeared like a magnolia tree in blossom because only the white heads were discernible. In the early spring the feathers on the head and tail are clean and white, but as .soon as the salmon begin to run they become greasy and yellowish from coming in con- tact with the fish when the bird is feeding. The plumage of these birds forms a very efficient protec- tion against the rain. I watcht one pair of birds during a storm that lasted a week; and altho it rained every day, the birds were able to care for their young. Most of their time, however, was spent perching in the top of a dead spruce tree, since they hunted very little during the storm. The molting period seems to extend over a considerable time in these birds, so that even in the midst of the molt they are apparently in good plumage. One bird that I secured in the middle of August, had two new primaries coming in on each wing, and several new second- aries were just beginning to show up among the other feathers. There were not so many new feathers conting in on the body; and judging from this individual, the