O'er all the horrors of the scene below;
Intent alone to sate himself with blood,
From the torn victims of the raging flood.

The white-headed eagle is three feet long, and seven feet in extent;
the bill is of a rich yellow; cere the same, slightly tinged with
green; mouth flesh-coloured; tip of the tongue, bluish black; the
head, chief part of the neck, vent, tail coverts, and tail, are white
in the perfect, or old birds of both sexes, in those under three years
of age these parts are of a gray brown; the rest of the plumage is
deep, dark brown, each feather tipt with pale brown, lightest on the
shoulder of the wing, and darkest towards its extremities. The
conformation of the wing is admirably adapted for the support of so
large a bird; it measures two feet in breadth on the greater quills,
and sixteen inches on the lesser; the longest primaries are twenty
inches in length, and upwards of one inch in circumference where they
enter the skin; the broadest secondaries are three inches in breadth
across the vane; the scapulars are very large and broad, spreading
from the back to the wing, to prevent the air from passing through;
another range of broad flat feathers, from three to ten inches in
length, also extend from the lower part of the breast to the wing
below, for the same purpose; between these lies a deep triangular
cavity; the thighs are remarkably thick, strong, and muscular, covered
with long feathers pointing backwards, usually called the femoral
feathers; the legs, which are covered half way below the knee, before,
with dark brown downy feathers, are of a rich yellow, the colour of
ripe Indian corn; feet the same; claws blue black, very large and
strong, particularly the inner one, which is considerably the largest;
soles, very rough and warty; the eye is sunk, under a bony, or
cartilaginous projection, of a pale yellow colour, and is turned