I-2, Accipiter Piscatorius, The Fishing Hawk

Mark Catesby, Natural History I-2, The Fishing Hawk

This bird weighs 3.25 pounds. Its wingspan is 5.5 inches. The bill is black, with a blue cere. The iris of the eye is yellow. The crown of the head is brown with white feathers mixed in. Behind each eye is a brown stripe. All the upper parts of the back, wings, and tail are dark brown. The throat, neck, and belly are white. The legs and feet are remarkably rough and scaly, and of a pale blue color. The talons are black and of almost equal size. The feathers of the thighs are short and adhere close to the legs, unlike those of other hawks; this feature seems designed by nature to help them penetrate the water easily.

To fish, they hover above the water and then plunge into it with prodigious speed. The hawk remains underwater for several minutes and seldom rises without a fish.

As soon as the bald eagle – which is generally on the watch – spies this fish, he flies at the hawk. The hawk ascends, screaming out, but the eagle always soars above him at compels the hawk to drop the fish. The eagle almost always catches the fish before it hits the water. It is remarkable that whenever the hawk catches a fish, he calls, as it were, for the eagle, who always obeys this call if he is within hearing.

The lower parts of the rivers and creeks near the sea abound with these eagles and hawks, where these diverting contests are frequently seen

Thanks to my sponsors!

Many thanks to the gentlemen who supported my work:

His Grace the Duke of Chandois

The Right Honourable Thomas Earl of Oxford

The Right Honourable Thomas Earl of Macclesfield

The Right Honourable John Lord Percival

Sir George Markham, Bar F.R.S.

Sir Henry Goodrick, Bar

Sir Hans Sloane, Bar President of the Royal Society and of the College of Physicians

The Honourable Colonel Francis Nicholson, Governor of South Carolina

Richard Mead, M.D. and F.R.S.

Charles Dubois, Esq., F.R.S.

John Knight, Esq., F.R.S.

William Sherard, L.L.D. and F.R.S.

I-1 Aquila Capite Albo, The Bald Eagle

Mark Catesby, Natural History I-1: The Bald Eagle

This bird weighs nine pounds. The iris of the eye is white, and over the eye is a bump covered with yellow skin. The bill and cere are yellow, the legs and feet yellow, the talons black, the head and part of the neck are white, as is the tail. All the rest of the body and wings are brown.

Though it is a small eagle, it has great strength and spirit, preying on pigs, lambs, and fawns.

They always make their nests near the sea or great rivers, and usually on old, dead pine or cypress trees, continuing to build annually on the same tree until it falls. Though the bald eagle is formidable to all birds, it allows them to build nears its nest without attacking them, particularly the fishing and other hawks, herons, etc, which all make their nests in high trees. In some places they are so near one another that they appear to be a rookery.

This bird is called the bald eagle in both Virginia and Carolina, though its head is as covered with feathers as the body. Both the cock and hen have white heads, and look very similar to one another. 

To the Queen

Madam,

These volumes contain an essay on the natural history of the part of your majesty’s dominions that is particularly honored to bear your august name: Carolina. Your encouragement of all sorts of learning has emboldened me to request your royal protection and favor to my meager efforts.

I hope your majesty will not find it a waste of time to take a few minutes to cast your eye on these pages. They contain images of the glorious works of the creator displayed in the New World, hitherto concealed from your majesty and your predecessors, even though you have long held this country, which is inferior to none of your other dominions.

I have spent several years in travel and investigation in these remote parts, with the encouragement of several of your majesty’s subjects who are of eminent rank and great patrons of learning. I am singularly happy to be the first to present to the Queen of Great Britain a sample of the hitherto unknown but beneficial and beautiful productions of your Majesty’s dominions.

I am,

May it please your Majesty,

Your Majesty’s

Most humble and most dutiful subject,

M. Catesby.