90 Mr. Breeds * Birds of Europe 



author evidently thinks that his strong point is the capture in 

 the middle of Russia of the two Sea Eagles with all their 

 " heads and necks, as well as tails, as white as snow/' on the 

 evidence of Dr. Nordinann, which to our mind tells the other 

 way : — " After having compared them carefully with other Sea 

 Eagles killed in the same locality, he considered them to be old 

 individuals of F. albicilla, not admitting any specific difference 

 between it and F. leucocephalus," Now it is quite possible that at 

 that time Dr. Nordmann had not had much experience of the Bald 

 Eagle, and therefore was not aware of the great distinction be- 

 tween it when adult and the common Sea Eagle. But we feel 

 quite sure that, acute observer as he is, had he really got hold 

 of an old American bird, he would never for a moment have ima- 

 gined that it was identical with the European one, and accord- 

 ingly we believe that the specimens obtained were not examples 

 of the H. Icucocephalus. We have seen individuals of H. albicilla 

 from the Volga, with extremely pale heads ; and we can well 

 imagine that his birds were like them, the similitude to snow ex- 

 isting only in the fancy of the Muscovite ornithologist. This is 

 by no means so improbable as at first sight would appear. In 

 a state of nature, and under a favourable light, we ourselves have 

 seen the common Sea Eagle with a head and neck of a white- 

 ness that absolutely startled us at the first glance ; for the locality 

 was not so very far removed from those Norwegian islands where 

 Boie asserted that H. Icucocephalus bred : but that it was only 

 H. albicilla, our faithful telescope soon left us no room for 

 doubt. There is another point in connexion with this subject 

 which deserves consideration, and which we should feel glad if 

 Mr. Bree, or any one else who agrees with him, would enlighten 

 us upon. If H. Icucocephalus is found, not as a straggler, but 

 an inhabitant of the middle of Russia, how comes it that it is 

 not met with in the countries lying between that and America ? 

 It does not occur in Greenland, has never been observed in 

 Iceland, is not found, in spite of the assertions of MM. Nils- 

 son and Boie, in Scandinavia, and we have it most certainly not 

 in the British islands, though, through some mistake or other, 

 M. Tenuninck and Baron Laugier were induced to buy two 

 examples at Mr. Bullock's sale, said to have been killed in 



