The Birds of Shakespeare 
of Nature had not yet been seriously 
undertaken. 
I propose to enumerate here the birds 
individually selected by Shakespeare for 
special comment, and to cite a few passages 
from his works in illustration of the vari- 
ous ways in which he makes use of each 
of them. It will be convenient to take 
them in groups. 
We may begin with Birps or Prey, 
following the precedent set by Chaucer, 
who in his long list tells that “the fowles 
of ravine were hyest sette.” The EAGLE 
is cited some forty times. ‘The two birds 
of this kind native to Britain, the Golden 
Eagle, and the White-tailed or Sea-eagle, 
now so restricted in number, were doubt- 
less more abundant in his day. He may 
have occasionally seen examples of each of 
them on the wing, though his allusions 
hardly suggest any personal familiarity 
with the birds. Recognising the lofty 
rank of the eagle and its acknowledged 
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