28 BIRDS OF ICELAND 



A Snowy Owl generally sits on a hummock, or stone, 

 in an open place, for choice, and looks at some distance 

 like a milestone. When they have young the parents 

 are often very bold and aggressive, but at other times 

 (experttts loquor) a Snowy Owl is usually as bad to 

 get at as any shy stag. 



-^ Haliaetus albicilla (Linn.). Sea Eagle. 



Native names : ' Orn,' ' assa,' ' ari ' (found in the Younger 

 Edda). 



A resident, not common, breeding in sea cliffs, and 

 also in crags near an inland lake, or by a river where 

 fish are obtainable. It feeds inland on trout and char, 

 of which the heads, deeply scarred with claw-marks, 

 may occasionally be found by river and lake sides. 

 By the sea it takes sea-fish, but it does not disdain a 

 dead sheep. Mr. J. G. Millais tells me that he has 

 seen a Sea Eagle in Iceland take a very large trout, 

 but never saw it molest ducks. I have, however, 

 disturbed it when feeding on a freshly-killed Scaup, 

 by a river which held a good many trout. 



The nest, placed on a cliff- ledge, is made of sticks, 

 lined with twigs, roots, or grass; by the sea a good 

 deal of seaweed is used. The eggs are two in number, 

 roundish in shape and dull in texture, measuring 

 3 J inches by 2f inches, and are of a dirty white, 

 more or less spotted with red-brown ; but Iceland 

 examples are but little spotted, in my experience, and 

 one I got has no spots at all. 



