THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 65 



in some tall overhanging crag or rock^ and invariably where 

 access is impossible or extremely hazardous. Two^eggs are 

 commonly the number laid, and when incubation com- 

 mences the parent bird sits with great perseverance. The 

 eggs are about three inches in. length, of a yellowish-white 

 colour, spotted with light red; the markings, however 

 vary considerably. The young birds are not fully fledged 

 until about the middle of August ; they are most assidu- 

 ously fed by the old birds, but it is generally affirmed 

 that at this period the parents do not exhibit the ferocity 

 and courage towards intruders that is so noticeable in some 

 of the other eagles. 



Like most birds of this large and interesting family, 

 the Sea Eagle is subject to great variations in plumage and 

 size. In the ordinary adult male the entire length is from 

 thirty-three to thirty-six inches (the females are larger) ; 

 the beak and cere are yellow, the irides straw-coloured ; 

 the head and neck brownish-ash, made up by a mixture of 

 yellowish-white and brown, the shaft of each feather being 

 the darkest part ; the body and wings are dark brown, inter- 

 mixed with a few feathers of a lighter colour; primaries 

 nearly black ; the tail is entirely white, and slightly rounded 

 in form, the feathers in the centre being the longest ; the 

 legs and toes yellow, and the claws black ; the feathering 

 of the legs reaches a little below the knee ; the toes are 

 furnished with large scales, and the claws are strong, sharp, 

 hooked, and grooved underneath. 



^^ Mr. Yarrell mentions a peculiar point of difference 

 between this bird and the Golden Eagle. He says that the 

 latter have been known to breed in the same place for eight 

 seasons in succession, driving their young away to get their 

 living elsewhere ; while the Sea Eagle quits the breeding 



