138 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS 



Eagle is comparatively harmless, there is no excuse 

 for its slaughter, and we hope that the senseless 

 practice of laying poisoned meat, so commonly 

 indulged in by shepherds to this bird's detriment, 

 may soon be made an illegal one. There are at 

 present enough Eagles left to restock many a now- 

 deserted district ; and although we can never hope 

 to see the big bird in any southern haunt again, 

 we may do our best to protect it where preserva- 

 tion is possible. The White-tailed Eagle has a very 

 wide range beyond our limits, being found from 

 Greenland to Kamtschatka. It breeds in many 

 parts of Northern and Central Europe, from 

 Scandinavia to the valley of the Danube and 

 Turkey ; whilst in winter it visits North Africa, 

 from the Canaries to Egypt, in which latter 

 country it is said also to breed. Its winter 

 quarters in Asia include India, China, and Japan. 



In our islands now the favourite haunts of the 

 White-tailed Eagle are maritime ones, but in other 

 countries the bird appears to have as much 

 preference for inland localities. No other scenery 

 in Britain excels in grandeur that of this Eagle's 

 haunt — the wild mountainous islands of the north, 

 with their secluded lochs and long ranges of sea- 

 waslied crags, their bare hills and stream-pierced 



