AVES— EAGLE. 



441 



THE GREAT SEA EAGLE, 1 



Called the erne in Scotland, is usually above three feet in length, and the 

 wings, when expanded, measure seven or eight feet. The bill, yellow at 

 the base, is generally of a bluish black color towards the extremity. A 

 blackish brown, deeper above than beneath, is the common hue of the bird, 

 which is relieved by numerous white spots on the breast and under parts. 

 Of his wings the larger feathers are nearly black, but those of the tail have 

 a less deep tinge. It is found in the northern regions of both continents, 

 even to the very margin of the polar ice, and in Asia as far to the south as 

 the Caspian Sea. Fishing is the sea eagle's regular means of subsistence, 

 but, on occasion, it will pick up dead fish on the beach, and attack seals and 

 land animals. " Few exhibitions in nature," says the author of the British 

 Naturalist, " are finer than the fishing of this powerful bird. Not adapted 

 for walking into the shallow water for prey like the heron, the sea eagle 

 courses over the surface. From her unapproachable haunt in the trees or 

 the crags, — the latter is, when she can obtain it, her most admired resi- 

 dence — she darts forth with the straightness and fleetness of an arrow, and 

 as she glides high in the air, scanning the expanse of miles with her clear 

 and unerring vision, one or two motions of her wings are sufficient to elevate 

 her almost above the reach ofhuman eyes, or bring her down close to the 



1 Falco albicilla, Lin 



56 



