16 FALCONID.E. 



Halitettus alhicilla, Cinereous Sea Eagle, Selby, Brit. Ornith. vol. i. p. 18. 

 Aqtiila „ „ Eagle, jE>fYNS, Brit. Vert. An. p. 80. 



Halmttus ,, Sea Eagle, Gould, Birds of Europe, pt. ix. 



Falco ,, Aiglepygargue, Temm. Man, d'Ornitb. vol. i. p. 49. 



Hali.eetus. Generic Characters.— Beak elongated, strong, straight at the 

 base, curving in a regular arc in advance of the cere to the tip, and forming a 

 deep hook. The upper ridge broad and rather flattened. Edges of the upper 

 mandible slightly prominent behind the commencement of the hook. Nostrils 

 large, transversely placed in the cere, and of a lunated shape. Wings ample; 

 the fourth quill-feather the longest. Legs having the tarsi half-feaihered ; tlie 

 front of the naked part scutellated, and the sides and back reticulated. Toes 

 divided to their origin ; the outer one versatile. Claws strong and hooked, 

 grooved beneath ; the claw of the hind toe larger than that of the inner, which 

 again exceeds that of the middle and outer toes. 



Mr. Selby considers the White-tailed Eagle as gene- 

 rically distinct from the Golden Eagle ; and the generic 

 characters attributed to it by that gentleman in his orni- 

 thological work are therefore inserted here. Other distin- 

 guished naturalists have stated the same opinion. In the 

 greater length of its beah, in being less particular in the 

 nature and quality of its food, in its more sluggish habits 

 and want of courage, it has some resemblance to the Vul- 

 tures. 



As a species, it is much more common than the Golden 

 Eagle, and on some parts of the coast maybe seen frequently. 

 It inhabits the high rocks and cliffs that overhang the sea, 

 from whence it keeps a look-out, and when hungry is equally 

 ready to seize either fowl or fish, and has been seen to attack 

 and feed on seals. It also evinces a great partiality for 

 fawns and venison, being occasionally killed in deer-parks 

 and forests. Epping Forest, near London, and the New 

 Forest, in Hampshire, are recorded as localities in which it 

 has been shot — in the latter in several successive years ; and 

 Mr. Selby, in his Catalogue of the Birds of Northumberland 

 and Durham, printed in the Transactions of the Natural 

 History Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, mentions three 



