EAGLE. 



359 



the young of this has often been described as a differ- 

 ent species. The cause of this appears to have been 

 of the same nature with that which led to a similar 

 mistake in the case of the golden eagle. The young 

 birds and the old ones are, as in that species, different 

 in colour ; and about the same length of time elapses 

 before the perfect mature plumage is assumed. The 

 young are much more discursive along the shores than 

 the old birds ; and as the probability is that they do not 

 pair till they have passed two winters, they may be 

 found on the shores when a year old, in the breeding 

 time, when the old ones, which prefer trees to rocks 

 for their nesting places, are then more inland. The 

 young, however, before they have acquired their per- 

 fectly mature plumage, do pair, and have at least one 

 brood, and in all probability two. Thus the birds in 

 the one plumage appear when the others do not ; they 

 appear more on the shores, and there are pairs and 

 broods among birds in both plumages. Therefore, 

 these are as satisfactory proofs as can be obtained in 

 most cases that there are really two distinct species ; 

 and the fact would not have been called in question, 

 if it had not been ascertained by direct observation of 

 the change and the age at which it takes place, that 

 these two apparent species are one and the same. 

 The young was the " sea eagle" of British describers, 

 and called Aqniln ossifraga, or the " bone-breaking 

 eagle," while the adult was the " cinereous eagle " and 

 the " whiteitailed eagle." 



This species is as large as the golden eagle, or pro- 

 bably a little larger ; but its form is not so compact, 

 it does not appear so firmly knit, and its expression is 

 by no means so lively or intelligent. Still it is a very 

 powerful bird, and if we looked only at the size of its 

 destructive weapons, we would be apt to conclude 

 that it were the more formidable bird of the two. 

 Both its bill and its talons are larger than those of 

 the golden eagle, and the talons are more crooked 

 and sharper at the points. But when we come to 

 examine both birds narrowly, we find that there are 

 indications of inferiority about the present species. 

 The beak is yellow, and, though larger in size, it seems 

 softer and weaker than that of the other, and not so 

 firmly based on the bones of the head. Its cutting 

 edges are also not so decidedly formed. It is straight 

 for a greater length at the base, and the toothed vvav- 

 ings, which enable the beak of the other to take so 

 firm a hold in tearing, are nearly obliterated. The 

 beak of the one resembles a smaller instrument of 

 steel, that of the other a larger instrument of soft 

 iron. The claws too, though better clutching and 

 retaining instruments, are not of so mangling a cha- 

 racter. They are a little flattened on their under 

 sides ; but they are without the prominent ridges 

 which enable the others to act with such effect. 



But, after all, this eagle is a very powerful bird and 

 well armed for the work of destruction. As com- 

 pared with the golden eagle, it follows the usual law of 

 the difference of birds which are wholly or partially 

 marine, and birds which are exclusively inland. It is 

 found inhabiting much farther to the north, and it is 

 more discursive, and ranges more with the seasons. 

 It is found in Iceland, in the Faroe Isles, in Shetland, 

 in the Orkneys, in the Western Isles, and on the wild 

 and rocky shores of the west of Scotland generally. 

 It sometimes ranges into England, but it is not nume- 

 rous so far to the south. In summer it haunts and 

 hovers over the fresh water pools and morasses, where 

 water fowl breed in great numbers, and is very de- 



structive of them ; and it also attacks the smaller 

 quadrupeds, and, as is said, even sheep and deer, espe- 

 cially in the early part of the season when they arc 

 sickly and weak. 



As these birds are of strong wing, and capable of 

 enduring hunger for a long time, they extend their 

 winter excursions often to a great distance from their 

 breeding places. Those which appear in England, 

 and although they are not numerous, they arc found 

 in the most southerly parts as winter visitants, are 

 understood to leave the north when the sea is too 

 stormy for them, and they are frozen out on the 

 northern lands. It has sometimes been said, that the 

 appearance of these eagles in greater numbers than 

 usual is accompanied by more than the usual supply 

 of wild fowl. 



They retire a little toward the north in the breed- 

 ing time. Those which breed in the far north coun- 

 tries build in the rocks, choosing the most elevated 

 and inaccessible places; and indeed they have no 

 alternative, as there are no trees in those countries. 

 In places where, there are trees in wild and secluded 

 situations, either near the sea or the inland waters 

 and marshes, though never very fur inland, they give 

 the preference to this. It is not understood that they 

 keep so constantly to the same eyrie, or even to the 

 same locality, as the golden eagles. There is one 

 particular mentioned with regard to their broods and 

 their apparent numbers, in which they agree with 

 many of the larger sea birds which build on the cliifs. 

 Their eggs are few in proportion to their apparent 

 numbers, being never more than two, and often only 

 one. 



The general colour of these birds in the young 

 state, or before they have acquired the mature plu- 

 mage, is dark brown, with the margins of the feathers 

 of a lighter tint. On the lesser coverts, the scapulars, 

 and the throat, these margins are very pale, approach- 

 ing to a reddish straw colour. The under part at 

 this age is spotted, and among the varied spottings 

 there arc always some patches of white. The tail is 

 dark brown, as deep in the tint at the extremity as 

 the bar on the tail of the golden eagle ; but the other 

 parts are much mottled with lighter brown. The 

 bill at this age is of a leaden grey or bluish colour, 

 but very different in tint from that of the golden eagle. 

 As the bird approaches maturity, the feathers on the 

 head become paler in their tint, and the bill alters to 

 a straw colour ; the cere and irides acquire u tinge 

 of red ; and the pale margins of the feathers on the 

 upper parts and the throat fade off, rendering the 

 brown more uniform and unbroken. The mottlings 

 also disappear from the under part of the bird, which 

 becomes a deeper brown than the upper. The most 

 remarkable change, however, is in the tail and tail- 

 coverts, which, from being the darkest parts of the 

 bird in the early plumage, become pure white in 

 maturity. 



This is the species of which so many marvels arc- 

 told by the people of the north, about its carrying 

 away "children, and an endless number of other 

 adventures. L5ut those northern people, who have 

 been always obliged to have recourse to tales of 

 wonder, in order to help them through the tedious 

 darkness of their long winter nights, have thrown an 

 air of romance around almost everything that is 

 connected wi'h their countries, whether in natural 

 history or in any thing else ; and as this eagle is one 

 of the most conspicuous of their native birds, we 



