THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE 47 



came ashore in Hoy, quite dead, with its feet fast in a fish. 

 Again in the Shetlands a halibut was found with an eagle's 

 feet fast in its back, the bird itself having rotted off. 

 A specimen was also found with its claws fast in a salmon. 



A curious tradition exists in the north — a tradition 

 having probably as its origin the fact that an eagle at 

 times strikes at a fish too powerful for it to raise from 

 the surface of the water — to the effect that a Sea Eagle, 

 having despatched its victim, spreads its wings wide, and 

 using them as sails, makes for the shore with its prey. 

 But that the Sea Eagle is capable of lifting great weights 

 is borne out from the fact that a trout of no less than 

 twelve pounds was taken from an eyrie in the Lake District. 

 Durmg spells of frost, when the inland waters are frozen 

 over, the Sea Eagle is said to break the ice — provided the 

 latter is not of too great thickness — by stooping at and 

 through it. Still, should necessity arise, the bird is able 

 to exist without food for long periods, and one has been 

 known to fast for four or five weeks. Such was the hatred 

 of the Highland farmers towards the Sea Eagle that 

 when captured the birds were sometimes thrown alive into 

 some disused barn, and there left to starve slowly to death. 



It is not, I think, disputed that the Sea Eagle has a less 

 courageous nature than the King of Birds. One could 

 not imagine a Golden Eagle waiting quietly for an otter 

 to end its repast before finishing off the remnants, but a 

 Sea Eagle was unwilling to come to close quarters till the 

 otter had finished its meal. A pair of skuas have been 

 knowTi to attack and rout a Sea Eagle which had ventured 

 too near their nesting site. A Sea Eagle has been known 

 to attack a sleeping seal, though the result of the en- 

 counter is not chronicled, and one has been seen to carry 

 off a pig. 



It is probable that, like the Golden Eagle, the White- 

 tailed Eagle pairs for life, so that encounters between 



