376 Mr. W. H. Simpson on the Nesting 



cuously apparent, as the branches, now thickening and becoming 

 greener every day, formed a sort of leafy screen round the nest, 

 which would have been well concealed a fortnight later. One 

 of my friends rode up to the edge of the canal which ran be- 

 tween us and the tree, when forthwith two large Eagles very 

 leisurely turned out within pistol-shot of him, and then, after 

 flying within a hundred and fifty yards of our position, alighted 

 on the brow of the adjoining hill. Judging from the light 

 colour of some portions of the plumage, it was clear at once, 

 even to the naked eye, that the birds were not Golden Eagles ; 

 yet I was at first much puzzled what to make of them, never 

 having seen Aquila imperialis on the wing before. 



These birds, on being examined through the telescope (for after 

 the first alarm we never could get near them again), exhibited a 

 variegated colouring, in which darkish-brown was much relieved 

 by tawny, especially about the head and shoulders. The breast 

 appeared very dark ; but this might arise from the peculiar light 

 which was thrown upon the birds by the setting sun. The cere 

 exhibited a bright straw-colour, and appeared very large. The 

 whole colouring was so different from the uniformly dark cha- 

 racter which the mature Aquila chrysaetos presents on the wing, 

 that I felt sure the birds in question could not be of that species. 

 It was of course still more easy to perceive they were not Sea- 

 Eagles, and their size was sufficient to preclude them from being 

 confounded with any of the smaller known European Eagles. 

 Therefore on negative, if not on positive evidence, they stood 

 convicted of being Imperial Eagles. Subsequently I saw an- 

 other bird, evidently of the same species, sitting on the top of a 

 hill overlooking an island in the Danube, but was never able to 

 obtain a specimen. The Golden Eagle was never seen by me in 

 this locality, though my friend has noticed a " black Eagle," 

 which would appear to answer the description of the small dark 

 variety of Aquila chrysaetos which sometimes occurs in the south- 

 east of Europe. 



One would imagine that an Eagle's nest in a pollard ten feet 

 high was not difficult to find ; yet many had passed that way 

 daily without noticing it. Still less difficulty attended the 

 capture ; all the romance usually attaching to such a feat disap- 



