THE WHITETAILED-EAGLE 91 



Of the habits of courtship of the golden-eagle we know nothing, 

 nor is it certainly known whether, like the sparrow-hawk, it will 

 breed in the immature plumage. There is much, too, concerning 

 their everyday life on which we should like enlightenment. That 

 they are fond of bathing, and no less fond of basking in the sun, is 

 well known: but on all else in the daily round of life we know 

 nothing. 



THE WHITETAILED-EAGLE 

 [W. P. PYCRAFT] 



And now as to the sea-eagle (Haliaetus abicilla) to which reference 

 has already been made. Unhappily the comparisons to be drawn 

 between this and the golden-eagle are few in number, for this fine 

 bird is now almost extinct as a British breeding species, owing, in 

 part, to the senseless persecution of those who are unable to tolerate 

 the presence of raptorial birds in their vicinity, and in part to the 

 raids of egg-collectors. 



But at the outset it should be remarked that the sea-eagle, or 

 whitetailed-eagle, not only represents a distinct genus, but a distinct 

 group of the Eagles, only very remotely related to the true Eagles. 

 According to Dr. Suschkin, 1 indeed, the whitetailed-eagle should be 

 included in the Milvinse. 



As its name implies, it is, for choice, a dweller by the sea ; but 

 large inland areas of water afford it a no less congenial harbourage. 

 It is altogether a more versatile species than the golden-eagle. As 

 might be supposed from the sharp-pointed, horny excrescences on 

 the sole of the foot, fish form no small part of its diet. And these, 

 Naumann tells us, are often seized by a plunge, as in the case of the 

 osprey. Occasionally a fish too large to be raised aloft will be seized, 



1 P. Suschkin, " Beitrage zur Classification des Tagraubvogel mit zugrundelegung des 

 osteologischen Merkmale," Zool. Anzeig., xxii., 1809. 



