By Stream and Pond. 327 



The Gray Sea Eagle is a common bird in Southeastern Greenland, and 

 an inhabitant of the northern part of the Eastern Hemisphere. 



The adult bird is a little larger and in general appear- 

 i'r^^ ^!? ?^f -^^^ ^"<^e is not unlike our Bald Eagle, but has the head 



HaliEeetus albicilla (Linn.). , ^ ' 



brown, like the rest of the plumage, but somewhat lighter 

 intone. ^Wx^ tail is pure white. The bill and eyes are yellow. 



The birds nest on cliffs or tall trees generally near water, much as do 

 our Bald Eagles, and the eggs, two or three in number, are similar in color, 

 but a little larger. 



The Snail Hawk or Everglade Kite reminds one, at first glance, of a 



Marsh Harrier. The male birds are nearly as large, being about eighteen 



_ . . „. inches long ; the females are some two inches longer. 



Rostrhamussociabiiis* They arc slimly built and not heavy bodied, with a com- 



'^"""■*' paratively large spread of wing and long tails and very 



hooked and slender beaks and claws. 



The one region where I have met with these birds in numbers is 

 Panasoffkee Lake in Sumpter County, Florida. Here, in the early spring 

 of 1876, they arrived from the south in February, and soon became very abun- 

 dant and gregarious, from two to twenty being associated together. Their 

 food consisted of a kind of large fresh water snail, which is very abundant in 

 this lake. These snails were caught by the birds, who fished for them over 

 shallow water, reminding one of gulls. Their prey was secured by diving, 

 and immediately taken to some frequented perch near by. With dexterity 

 the birds removed the snails from their shells without breaking the shell or 

 the operculum that closed it. Great piles of these shells below such perches 

 attested to the enormous number of snails consumed. 



Probably not less than two hundred pairs bred here, but up to the time 

 of my departure on March 25th, they had not laid, though nest building had 

 begun. 



The male is a very dark slate color, relieved by a white patch above and 

 a smaller white patch below the tail. The tail is composed of feathers, white 

 at their bases, shading into darker slate than the body, and tipped rather 

 narrowly with white. The eyes are red. The female and immature birds 

 are dusky brown above, each feather being tipped with chestnut. The lower 

 parts are barred, streaked, and spotted with brown, reddish brown, buff, and 

 dusky, giving, on the whole, a mottled appearance. The wings are dusky, 



