THE ARTISTS BIRDS. 183 



man in broads and rivers, or on ornamental waters, 

 and is never known to breed on the wild Scottish 

 lochs — the haunt of the Golden Eagle. In the 

 second place, it must be remembered that the Mute 

 Swan is one of the most pugnacious of birds, 

 especially during the breeding season, jealously 

 guarding a particular part of the water from all 

 intruders. In the face of this fact, however, the 

 artist shows three adult swans swimming peace- 

 fully together in company with a pair of cygnets ! 

 Another great error in this elaborate painting is 

 to be remarked in the swooping Eagle. Apart 

 from the fact that it is very improbable that a 

 bird of tliis species would attack one Swan, let 

 alone three, as the Golden Eagle is a cowardly 

 fellow, generally molesting weak and defenceless 

 creatures only, the manner in which the attack 

 is being made is wrong. All the Birds of Prey 

 {Raptor es) strike with their legs and feet alone, 

 never with their beak, which is reserved for the 

 purpose of tearing the captured bird or animal in 

 pieces. Yet in this picture we are shown the Eagle 

 in the act of striking at the Swans with beak as 

 well as with feet. Such errors as these seriously 

 detract from the artistic merits of such an imposing 

 work — mistakes that might easily have been averted 



