112 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



HALIAETUS ALBICILLA (Linn^us). 

 SEA-EAGLE. 



Yultur albiulla, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 123 (1766). 



Hallaetus albicilla, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. Ac, p. 9 (1816) ; Locke, 



Expl. Sci. Alg. Ois. i, p. 34 (1867); Kocnig, J. f. 0. 1888, p. 140; 



id. J"./. 0.1892, p. 286. 

 Haliaetus albicillus, Shaiye, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. i, p. 802. 



Description. — Almost adult male, winter, from the Island of Galita, 

 North Tunisia. 



Head and neck creamy-white, streaked with bi'own ; remainder of 

 plumage mostly dark ash-brown, the quills blackish and the tail, which is 

 wedge-shaped, white tipped with brown ; underparts dull brown. 



Iris, bill, cere and feet yellow. 



Total length 33 inches, wing 24, culmen 3, tarsus 4. 



Adult female similar to the male, but rather larger. 



The fully adult bird has the tail entirely white. 



The young bird has most of its plumage, including the tail, dark ash- 

 brown. 



The Sea-Eagle, or White-tailed Eagle, is to be found on the north 

 coast of Tunisia, and I have an example of it obtained on the small 

 island of Galita, in December, 1904. Another e.xample was obtained 

 by Blanc, in January of the same year, in the neighbourhood of 

 Tabarca. The species is apparently not common anywhere in the 

 Regency and I am unable to say if it is resident there. 



The Sea-Eagle appears to occur in Algeria, although Loche states 

 that he seldom met with it, and had never seen an adult bird of the 

 species. 



From Marocco I have no note of its occurrence, but it is probably 

 to be found from time to time in that country, as it has been met with 

 in the Canaries, and also occurs occasionally in Spain. The species 

 indeed would appear to inhabit the whole of the Palaearctic Region, 

 though rare in many parts of it. In North-east Africa, however, 

 contrary to what obtains in the North-west of the Continent, the 

 Sea-Eagle is tolerably abundant and has been found nesting in con- 

 siderable numbers in the marshy lagoons of Lower Egypt, one of 

 its favourite breeding-haunts there being the reed-beds of Lake 

 Menzaleh. 



As its name implies, this Eagle is a denizen of the sea-coast, and 



