FOURTH DAY. 57 



pair who were trying to drive away an intruder from their 

 territory. It was a splendid sight to see the three great 

 birds pursuing each other in low circles over the bushes and 

 then mounting into higher regions and swooping down in 

 playful fashion, all the while sounding their loud cries. I was 

 delighted at this sign of their perfect feeling of security and 

 absence of suspicion, as it showed me that the owners of the 

 nest had not the slightest inkling of our presence. In a few 

 minutes the three eagles disappeared in different directions, 

 doubtless going about their usual business of seeking food for 

 their young ones. 



Another half-hour of perfect quiet passed by, giving me 

 time to make a thorough study of my surroundings, and of 

 the lively interesting habits of the marsh- and water-birds, 

 and the various songsters which were flying about. A pair of 

 Pygmy Eagles passed very low over our heads, and had I 

 not been waiting for the Sea-Eagle I could easily have shot 

 them right and left. These small but particularly rare and 

 interesting eagles were carefully entered in my note-book, as 

 I knew that their appearance would be of great interest, 

 especially to Homeyer, who was much occupied with the 

 Pygmy Eagle, and hoped great things of our journey in con- 

 nexion with this bird. 



The fact that they were a paired couple, one perfectly dark 

 and the other quite light-coloured, formed another argu- 

 ment against the separation of the Booted from the Pygmy 

 Eagle a question in which we were much interested, and 

 which has so long been a matter of dispute. 



The cries of the hungry young Sea-Eagles kept getting 

 louder, and the moment when the old birds would return to 

 the nest with plunder seemed to be approaching. Suddenly 

 I saw an eagle above the bushes on the other side of the 

 channel, but still a long way off. It darted straight towards 

 the nest, took a sweep round the high wood, and a few seconds 



