ERNE. 
Haliétus albicilla, SELBY. 
Falco F MontTaau. 
Aquila ws JENYNS. 
(H )als—The sea, Aietos—An Eagle. Alba—White. Cilla—A tail. 
Ir, beyond perhaps a kind of daring courage, and even this, 
most probably, the mere result of hunger, the Golden Eagle 
cannot be shewn to have any valid claim to the title usually 
conferred upon it, so neither can the present species, or in 
fact any other of the tribe to which it belongs, assert any 
nobility beyond that of appearance and personal strength. 
The Erne, or Sea Eagle, seems to be a compound of the 
characteristics of the Vultures, the Eagles, the Hawks, the 
predatory Gulls, and the Raven. It is a bird of imposing 
aspect, though less striking and handsome than the Golden 
Eagle, and not so compact: when excited it throws its head 
backwards, sets up the pointed feathers of the head and neck, 
and assumes many elegant and graceful attitudes. Its proper 
habitat is near the sea-shore, or fresh-water lakes surrounded 
by precipitous mountains: it 1s not however confined exclusively 
to coast localities, for it sometimes has been met with inland 
—in one instance as much as forty miles from the sea, and 
it occasionally also resorts to the sides of streams, in quest of 
salmon, trout, and other fish. 
This species is of very frequent occurrence in many parts of 
the old world, and is in this country far more numerous than the 
Golden Eagle. It is the most abundant in the northern parts 
of Jreland and Scotland, and in the Orkney and Shetland Islands, 
but has also been repeatedly met with in England. It is most 
frequently seen in Scotland, north of Aberdeen and the Ord 
of Caithness, and but rarely south of St. Abb’s Head. 
In flight, the feet are drawn close up, and the neck doubled 
back, so that the head appears as it were to grow from the 
shoulders. In this attitude it beats its hunting grounds, the 
