76 FIFTEEN DAYS ON THE DANUBE. 



I therefore drove down a broad avenue, towards the 

 nest alluded to, in a country cart, accompanied by the 

 forester. 



After a few minutes we stopped, and continued our way on 

 foot by a cross ride. When we had gone a few hundred 

 yards the forester begged me to enter the wood on my right 

 with my gun ready ; and under the skilful direction of my 

 guide I was cautiouslv creeping through the luxuriant foliage 

 of this young cover, when I suddenly saw the heavy form of 

 a Short-toed Eagle 011 the top of a dead tree. 



The beautifully marked bird of prey, with its dazzling 

 white breast, coffee-brown back, and thick Buzzard-like head 

 armed with a powerful beak, was at that moment diligently 

 occupied in preening its feathers, and had not observed us, but 

 was looking carelessly about. I leant against a young oak, 

 and had time enough to get a thorough impression of the sin- 

 gular appearance of this highly interesting raptorial bird. At 

 the very first sight it strikes the observer as peculiar ; for 

 there is something quite distinctive in its appearance, which 

 neither reminds one of the larger nor of the smaller Eagles, 

 but much more of the Buzzards and even somewhat of the 

 Owls. It does not, however, resemble these latter groups of 

 raptorial birds in so decided a manner as to admit of a precise 

 definition of their common characteristics. Its size is the 

 principal reason why the Short-toed Eagle seems such a new 

 and strange sort of type ; for it cannot possibly remind one 

 of our larger eagles, such as the Rock, Golden, Imperial, or 

 Sea ; and it is equally unlike the Osprey, Spotted and Pygmy 

 Eagles, or the Buzzard, Harriers, Goshawk, and the large 

 Falcons. It strikes one as much bigger and more powerful 

 than these latter birds, and as occupying a perfectly iso- 

 lated position in the European fauna a fact demanding the 

 thorough investigation of ornithologists. 



I approached the nest with great care, intending to study 

 the minutest details of the movements and character of this 



