WHITE- TAILED SEA-EAGLE. 75 



greater tlie elevation of a bird, eight feet from the tip 

 of one wing to that of the other, must be, when it pre- 

 sents a mere speck to the eye, than that of a bird not 

 many more inches in extent, under the same circum- 

 stances. Nor is tlie eagle " a mean-looking object" 

 under any circumstances. His motions indeed are m)t 

 so rapid as those of a small hawk, just as the motions 

 of an elephant are less rapid than those of a mouse ; nor 

 is his courage equal to that of the hobby. And well it 

 is that such is the case ; for, had the elephant the 

 courage and activity of the weasel, no animal large 

 enough to attract his notice could live within twenty 

 miles of him. From a flat surface an eagle rises with 

 great difficulty, and not until after repeated flappings 

 of its wing, but in the air it exhibits great facility of 

 motion. Nothing can be more beautiful than the ma- 

 jestic sweep of an eagle, while passing along the sides 

 of the mountains in search of prey; but the pleasing 

 eff'ect which such a sight has upon us, is not dependent 

 solely upon the velocity or elegance of motion dis- 

 played, for in both respects the swallow greatly excels 

 the eagle, without aff*ording us equal delight. 



Although this species has been named the Sea-Eagle, 

 and is supposed to be peculiarly maritime, I have picked 

 up some of its feathers on the granite cairn on the 

 summit of Loch-na-garr, in Aberdeenshire, more than 

 forty miles inland ; and Mr Mackenzie, the Earl of 

 Fife's forester, informed me, that both this and the 

 Golden Eagle occur in the Braemar district. On an 

 island in Loch Skene, in the high range of greywacke 

 hills on the confines of the counties of Dumfries, 

 Peebles, and Selkirk, a paii* used to breed not many 



