WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 27 



the Transactions of the Natural History Society of New- 

 castle-upon-Tyne, mentions three examples that were shot 

 in Chillingham Park, where they were accustomed to feed 

 upon the fallen deer. 



The White-tailed Eagle builds its nest on high rocks, 

 and lays two eggs about the same size as those of the 

 Golden Eagle, but with very little or no red colour on 

 the white ground. The young are at first covered with 

 a soiled white down ; and even at this age the beaks and 

 claws of the Eaglets are of very large size. A pair of 

 Golden Eagles have been known to rear their young in 

 the same spot for eight seasons in succession ; and Mr. 

 Mudie has mentioned that being thus attached to a par- 

 ticular locality, their young, when able to provide for 

 themselves, are driven away by the parent birds to get 

 their living elsewhere ; but the more erratic White-tailed 

 Eagles, quitting the breeding station when the season is 

 over, leave their young to forage over the district in 

 which they have been raised. 



This species has been taken in most of the counties on 

 the east coast. A pair were trapped on a rabbit-warren 

 in Suffolk, one of which carried a heavy trap nearly half 

 a mile, and was secured with some difficulty. Six spe- 

 cimens have been killed in Norfolk since the year 1811. 

 Holy Island and St. Abb's Head are localities near 

 which these birds have been occasionally seen. Specimens 

 have also been killed in Hampshire, Devonshire, Somer- 

 setshire, and Shropshire. Since the publication of the 

 first edition of this work, one example of this Eagle has 

 been shot at Thetford in Norfolk ; one near Weymouth ; 

 one at Fawley Court near Henley; and one so near 

 London as Coombe Wood, Wimbledon Common. This 

 last bird was well preserved by Mr. Larkham of Roehamp- 

 ton, for H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge. Montagu 



