One day there was a man who was walking through the forest
and got lost. He wandered around for over a week, and was
beginning to starve.

He spotted a Bald Eagle who had just caught a fish and chased
it, hoping to get it to drop the fish so he could eat it.
Then he saw the bird land on a tree stump not far from him,
so he picked up a stone to toss at it--hoping the bird would
be frightened and fly away without the fish. But, weak as he
was, his aim was off and he hit the poor bird square on the
head, and killing it.

"Well," he thought to himself, "no sense letting it go to
waste, if I leave it here it will just rot, and it could save
my life if I eat it."

So, he built himself a little fire--using a couple of stones-
-and cooked the eagle to eat. While it was cooking a ranger
stumbled upon the man, and when he saw what he was up to, he
immediately arrested him--because as you know, that is quite
illegal!

The man told the ranger what had happened, and asked for a
trial so he could explain the situation to a judge.

So, the day of his trial he told the judge, "Please your
Honor, it was a life or death situation! I was lost and
starving, and I didn't mean to harm the bird--I only wanted
the fish! And when I accidentally killed it, well, I felt
terrible but couldn't see any reason to let it go to waste!"

The judge listened to the man's story and deemed him, "Not
guilty, on the grounds of extenuating circumstances."

The man was very grateful, and thanked the judge for his
fairness.

Then, the judge leaned over and quietly asked the man, "Just
between you and me, what DOES a Bald Eagle taste like
anyway??"

The man comtemplated this for a moment and then spoke, "Well,
it's kind of hard to explain... but, I would say somewhere
between a California Condor and a Spotted Owl."