NOTES ON ILLUSTRATIONS 93 



''April 11th, 1889. 

 "The eagle is perfect with the exception of the iris, 

 which should, I think, be a shade lighter in colour." 



''May stfi, 1889. 



"The white-shouldered eagle {A. adalberti) should be 

 represented on a dead top bough of Lombardy poplar or 

 willow, in an open country with scrubby vegetation, 

 cistus, rosemary, lentiscus, myrtle, and a belt of dark firs 

 in extreme distance ; patches of yellow sand amongst the 

 scrub, a distant rabbit, very intense blue cloudless sky. 



" The booted eagle {A. pennata) in pine forest on 

 hillside, the trees bare of bough to a considerable height." 



" February \s,th, 1890. 



" I received your note of the 12th with the drawings 

 last night. The mergansers are quite perfect, and I 

 think that your sketch in your letter for their attitude 

 will be excellent. I would put them on a fresh-water 

 mountain loch, in preference to the sea. About the 

 black guillemot — I think the best plan would be to 

 figure the adult bird sitting in something of the attitude 

 of your sitting sketch sent, but looking downwards 

 instead of upwards, and a young bird (that is, one in the 

 plumage that you have figured) flying off to a small 

 flock in the background on the sea. You could put the 

 old black bird on a great seaweed-covered stone close 

 to the water at the foot of a cliff. 



