WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 29 



Baikal, and inhabits Russia, from whence to the south- 

 ward it is spread over the European continent generally, 

 and has been taken in Sicily and Corfu. 



The whole length of an adult male Cinereous or 

 White-tailed Eagle is about twenty-eight inches ; the 

 females are five or six inches longer : the beak and cere 

 are yellow, the irides straw yellow; the head and neck 

 brownish ash, made up by a mixture of yellowish white 

 and brown, the shaft of each feather the darkest part ; 

 body and wings dark brown, intermixed with a few 

 feathers of a lighter colour ; primaries nearly black ; 

 tail entirely white, and slightly rounded in form, the 

 middle feathers being the longest; the legs and toes 

 yellow ; the claws black. 



In young birds of this species the beak is horn colour, 

 the cere yellowish brown, the irides brown ; the plumage 

 more uniform in colour, and darker ; the tail-feathers dark 

 brown. In this state it is the Sea Eagle of many authors, 

 and was called ossifragus (bone-breaker). The term ossi- 

 frage occurs in the Old Testament, Leviticus, ch. xi., 

 v. 13, and in Deuteronomy, ch. xiv., v. 12. 



The vignette below has been already referred to, page 19. 



The representation of the White-tailed Eagle here given 

 was taken from a specimen in the Garden of the Zoological 

 Society. 



