Golden eagles are rare in the Maritimes and ... "I wanted to at least see him spread his wings," said Gallant. For more on this story, watch the video above.

With its forward-swept wings and black body, the plane was named the “Golden Eagle” (“Berkut” in Russian). It represented the apotheosis of many Soviet military aerospace theories.

He spread the wings, fanned the tail, examined the feathers ... a dead eagle he found along a fence after it apparently had been shot. He also received a golden eagle from the government repository ...