The King of Birds　群鸟之王

As the lion is called the king of beasts,so the eagle is called the king of birds;but except that it is bigger,stronger,and swifter than other birds,there does not seem much reason for the name.It is a mistake to attribute noble or mean qualities to animals or birds,or to think they can do good or bad actions,when they can only do what God has created them to do,and as their instinct teaches.

The most powerful of the eagles is the Golden Eagle,so called because of the rich yellowish-brown bordering to its feathers.It makes its nest in the clefts of the rocky sides of the mountains,and seldom on a tree,unless where one has sprung up in between the clefts,and the tangled roots make a sort of platform.This the eagles cover with sticks,and here they make their house,living in it always,and not only when they lay eggs or have young ones.If there are eagles in the nest,the food is at once carried home to them,and the skinning and eating done at home.Eagles are very attentive to their young,and feed them with great care until they are able to take care of themselves.

正如狮子被尊为群兽之王，鹰也拥有群鸟之王的美誉。鹰之所以有这一美誉，不过是因为和同类相比，它体型更大、身体更壮、行动也更敏捷而已。除此之外，鹰并没有其他特异之处。人们常常把高贵或者邪恶的品性赋予飞禽走兽，以为它们能做好事或者坏事，这是不对的。实际上，它们所做的一切都是出于天性和本能罢了。

在所有的鹰中，最厉害的要算是金鹰了。它的每片羽毛上都有一圈金灿灿的黄棕色的边，因此得名金鹰。它一般在高山上的岩缝里筑巢，很少把巢筑在树上，除非这棵树长在山上的岩缝里，并且树根已经盘结成了一个小平台。金鹰用树枝把这个小平台盖起来，筑成窝，不仅在这里下蛋，养育小鹰，还会一直在这里住下去。如果鸟窝里有小鹰，鹰爸爸和鹰妈妈总是在第一时间把吃食送回家，小金鹰蜕皮、吃饭都在窝里进行。鹰爸爸和鹰妈妈对它们的孩子呵护备至，它们会悉心喂养小金鹰直到它们能够自立。