Eagles

Eagles

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state laws,” said Mr. Clark.

The birds were discovered on Tuesday or Wednesday of last week, said Mr. Clark, and recovered by Game Warden Jim Bankston, who turned them over to federal authorities. More lab work is being done on the carcasses by federal scientists, said Mr. Clark.

Agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and law enforcement personnel from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, are conducting the joint investigation into the killings.

The bald eagle, in addition to being the symbol of the United States, is an endangered species. Killing or in any way harming an eagle is prohibited under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Conviction under these laws can bring jail terms of up to one year and fines of $25,000 on each count.

According to law enforcement officials, they are confident that someone has information which could lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for killing the eagles.

The Wildlife Center of Virginia, The National Wildlife Federation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and an unnamed private citizen have combined resources to offer a reward of $7,000 to any individual providing the information that leads to a conviction in the case.

Wildlife officials assume the dead eagles, which mate for life, were a mated pair. It is not known whether the pair was actually nesting. If so, there would have been from one to three eggs or young chicks in the nest at the time the adults were killed. The young, too, would have died without their parents — probably of exposure or starvation.

Most bald eagles in Virginia reside along tidal rivers near the Chesapeake Bay. The pair found in Rappahannock is thought to be the same pair seen periodically throughout the winter along the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge.

Mr. Clark said there are about 120 nests and a population of 300-500 in Virginia.

Eagles feed primarily on fish,