I40 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS 



we have had the pleasure of visiting are magniticent 

 to a degree. So far as our experience goes, the 

 bird always selects a site for its eyrie which 

 commands a wide range of country. Some of these 

 nests are built in rocks absolutely inaccessible to 

 man ; others in situations which can be reached by 

 even a moderate climber. The nest is a huge mass 

 of sticks, often the accumulation of years, generally 

 lined with dry grass, bunches of wool, and leaves 

 of some green plant. Some nests are much more 

 elaborate than others, the site influencing this to a 

 great extent. We have seen nests which occupied 

 an entire crevice in the cliffs, the hollow being 

 filled up in the same way that a Jackdaw will do ; 

 whilst others on the flat ledges were composed of 

 not more than a quarter of the material. In some 

 countries, we might say, the nest is made in a tree 

 or even on the ground. The two eggs are white, 

 and generally without markings. Incubation is 

 performed by both sexes, and but one brood is 

 reared in the year. An inexperienced person 

 might think that to approach the nest of such a 

 big bird would be a somewhat risky undertaking ; 

 but the sitting Eagle flies away almost as soon as 

 it is disturbed, and appears to show no further 

 interest in the unwelcome visit. A Ring Ouzel is 



