of Central Bulgaria. 201 



first round. The second round began in a similar manner to the 

 first ; every now and then one of the birds would make a feint 

 at the other ; they now changed their tactics, and by sailing in 

 short spirals each endeavoured to get above his adversary : in 

 this way they rose to a considerable height, till at last one bird 

 having got well above the other, came down upon him with a 

 terrific swoop ; the lower bird, nothing daunted, instantly turned 

 right on its back and in a most dexterous manner received his 

 enemy on his outstretched talons ; another melee then ensued si- 

 milar to the first, ending in the same way by their tumbling down 

 a couple of hundred feet or so in each other's embrace and sepa- 

 rating as before. Thus the battle raged for nearly half an hour, 

 when one of the birds having got far up above the other, made a 

 fell swoop down upon his gallant enemy, striking him with great 

 force at a height of about three hundred feet from the ground. 

 The lower bird received him manfully, and fixing his talons well 

 into him, they both came down to the ground with a heavy 

 thud not ten yards from me. I jumped from my horse with 

 the intention of securing these noble gladiators ; but when almost 

 within my grasp, they released their hold and made off in dif- 

 ferent directions. That their fight had been a desperate one, the 

 blood on the spot where they fell bore ample testimony. 



Aquila n^via (Gmel.) . Spotted Eagle. 



Not uncommon in any part of the country, but most nume- 

 rous in the neighbourhood of the Devna lakes and in the Pra- 

 vidy valley. In its habits it strongly resembles the Buzzards, 

 generally flying low in pursuit of its prey, which, if belonging 

 to the feathered tribes, it strikes in the air. It seldom soars to 

 any great height, although on rare occasions I have seen it rise 

 to a height from which it was hardly distinguishable. They 

 generally rest on trees, preferring a dead or sear bough, whence 

 they watch their prey, and, when the opportune moment arrives, 

 dash ofi" in pursuit, again returning to the same resting-place if 

 unsuccessful. When thus engaged they will permit a very near 

 approach ; and thus they are very easily shot. 



In the spring of 1865 I observed a nest of this bird placed 

 on an ash-tree ovei'hanging the stream at the southern entrance 



