Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Eagle

EAGLE, the Golden, or Falco chrysaëtos, L. a bird of prey, which chiefly inhabits the northern parts of Britain: it weighs about twelve pounds, and is nearly three feet long; but, with its expanded wings, measures above seven feet.

These birds possess the senses of sight and smell in an uncommonly acute degree: they are also remarkable for their longevity, and their long abstinence from food. There are instances of eagles having attained an age exceeding one hundred years, and of one which existed twenty-one days without sustenance.

Eagles are very destructive to lambs, kids, fawns, and all kinds of game, especially during the breeding season, when they carry vast quantities of prey to their young. These pernicious birds are particularly mischievous in the Orkney Islands, where a law is in force, which entitles every person that kills an eagle, to a hen out of every house in the parish where such bird was killed.