2 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 



was recognised long ago, by sportsmen and naturalists, 

 is shown by the following quaint passage in Turbervile's 

 " Booke of Ealconrie," printed in 1575, where, speak- 

 ing of the "Eagle royale" or golden eagle [Aquila 

 chrysaetos), instructing its young how to "Kyll their 

 praye and feede them selves ;" the author adds — " But 

 no soner hath she made them perfit, and throughly 

 scooled them therin, but presently she chaseth them out 

 of that coaste, and doth abandon them the x^lace where 

 they were eyred, and will in no wise brooke them to 

 abide neare hir, to the ende that the countrey where she 

 discloseth and maketh her eyrie, bee not unfurnished of 

 convenient pray, which by the number and excessive 

 store of eagles might otherwise be spoiled and made 

 bare. For the avoyding of which, this provident and 

 carefuU soule doth presently force her broode to depart 

 into some other part and region." 



The male specimen of this sea eagle in the Norwich 

 museum (No. 5 in the British series), although marked 

 adult, was taken whilst young off Wuitei'ton some years 

 since, and attained its present plumage in confinement. 

 The following curious particulars respecting its capture 

 and subsequent history are thus recorded by Messrs. 

 Gurney and Fisher, in their "Birds of Norfolk:"^ — 

 " Some boys having thrown out a line and hook into the 

 sea, baited with a herring, for the purpose of catching 

 a gull, the bait was spied and pounced upon by the 

 eagle, and the hook becoming fixed in the inside of his 

 foot, he was found by the boys, upon their return to 

 examine their line, floating on the surface of the water. 

 They immediately went off in a boat, and completed 

 their capture without much diflB.culty. This bird was 



* " An account of the Birds found in !Norfolk, including 

 Notices of some of the rarer Species which have occurred in the 

 adjoining Counties." By J. H. Gurney, Esq., and W. R. Fisher, 

 Esq., published in the " Zoologist" for 1846. 



