EAGLES. 155 



themselves to the coast and Hve on prey snatched from the 

 salt sea waves, but others are to be found far inland where- 

 ever lakes or large streams provide the required nourishment. 

 The white-tailed variety is known to British ornithologists 

 as the erne. He does not confine himself to finny prey, but 

 often makes inroads on the farmyard or field, snatching up 

 a fowl, a young pig, or anything within reach. The Chinese 

 variety nests in Kiangsi, travelling in pairs when on migra- 

 tion. Most of the fish eagles seem to like nesting on tall 

 cliffs, but thej' will make use of trees when necessary. The 

 nest grows year by year to an enormous size. At its best 

 the white tailed eagle is a fine bird, its yellow beak, cere, and 

 feet contrasting with the lighter and darker browns of the 

 bodj% whilst the tail gives its great distinguishing feature. 

 There is a specimen in the Shanghai Museum. 



H. pelafiiciis is even larger than H. albicilla, the female 

 being fortj'-one inches over all. She is, indeed, the largest 

 of her family, and with pure white for wing and tail coverts 

 as well as for the thighs, is lightened in colour much more 

 than most of her relatives. This sea-eagle, however, is not 

 a frequent visitor to us. 



H. leiicogasfer, the white-bellied sea-eagle: is of slighter 

 build, and reaches only some twenty-eight inches. There is 

 a specimen in the Shanghai Museum, but I am of opinion 

 that it has come from some other land than China. It is, 

 however, common from India to Australia. 



H. leiicocephaliis, or H. Washinfitonii, as Audubon 

 patriotically calls it, is a visitor to N.W. Asia and Mongolia, 

 and is known to the Chinese as the white-headed eagle. 

 The epithet "bald" so often applied to it has no grounds 

 for use that I know of, for the bird is not bald at all, 

 but has its head covered with feathers of a pure white, 

 whence its proper name. It is certainly a striking creature 

 not only from its size, 38 inches, but from the contrasts 

 provided bj^ its plumage. The dazzling white of the head, 

 neck, and tail, together with the tail coverts, stands out in 

 strong distinction to the dark chocolate brown, shading 

 almost into black, of the body parts, whilst the yellow of the 

 beak and feet provides a tinge of gold which enriches the 

 picture immensely. There is all the difference in the world 

 between the description of the white-headed eagle by an 

 arm-chair ornithologist, and that of another by one who 

 loves the field. The former may rouse our envj' by the 

 precision with which hetellsoff the number of feathers in a tail, 

 the number of inches to the primaries, and the microscopic 

 differences to be found between the skulls of two allied 

 varieties, but it is the latter which lives. Under the pen of 

 an Audubon the bird stands before us, a picture of nature not 



