100 FIFTEEN DAYS ON THE DANUBE. 
After this unsuccessful attempt we retraced our steps to the 
huts of the herdsmen. A few yards in front of them was a 
nest of one of the smaller hawks, but all our attempts to 
drive the bird out of it failed ; the forester therefore advised 
me to wait a little while at it, as he had also never been able 
to identify its owner. 
I crouched down in the dense dripping wet bushes, for, 
damp and unpleasant though my position was, I had still an 
hour to spare, and intended to devote a quarter of it to this 
nest. While so employed I observed a pair of Black Kites 
circling close above me, and evidently much annoyed at my 
presence, as they had begun building their nest a few 
paces off. 
It had gradually left off raining, and though short but 
heavy showers occasionally passed over us, the clouds had 
broken up. There were some patches of blue sky, and the sun 
itself appeared for a minute now and again. 
After waiting about half an hour the affair grew too tedious, 
and I felt convinced that the little hawk was quietly sitting 
in its nest; and as all these raptorial birds of Southern Hun- 
gary, being hardly ever disturbed, are unusually tame, I had 
good grounds for coming to this conclusion. 
I therefore quickly fired my first barrel into the middle of 
the nest, knocking the flimsy structure all to bits, and a bird 
flew out hard hit, but had still strength enough to fly a good 
way off into the thickets, so that I lost sight of it ; and as all 
search in that impenetrable undergrowth would have been 
useless, [ returned to the forester, and we continued our 
homeward route. 
From my men I heard that not only had their efforts to 
find the Sea-Eagle been unrewarded, but that while the 
climber was taking the nest the angry bird had come up low 
over the ground, and swooped several times close above the 
head of our Apatin German. My jiiger assured me that I 
