FIFTH DAY. 77 



bird ; but the forester entreated me to fire at it, and I 

 unfortunately followed his advice. We had, however, mis- 

 calculated the distance ; and the eagle flew off, perfectly 

 uninjured. Somewhat depressed by this failure, I crept 

 under the nest, which was placed on the middle branches of 

 a young oak thickly entwined with ivy, and was remarkably 

 small compared with the size of the bird. 



In a few moments I saw the pair of Eagles circling aloft, 

 playfully pursued by some Black Kites and Hooded Crows. 

 Their beautiful plumage was brilliantly relieved against the 

 sky, and I had a good opportunity of watching their flight, 

 which was unquestionably not the easy gliding motion which 

 characterizes all the eagles, but an unmistakable buzzard- 

 like flapping of the wings, so often repeated that this so- 

 called eagle ought not to be allowed to retain the honourable 

 but undeserved position assigned to it by the earlier natu- 

 ralists. Some plucky Hooded Crows swooped at the circling 

 couple in the most impertinent way ; and the female, anxious 

 about her brood, shot down to the wood like an arrow. I 

 never saw a bird of prey alight on its nest in such a singular 

 manner ; for, instead of first settling on the edge of the 

 structure, the Short-toed Eagle clung outside it like a 

 Swift, and remained some seconds in that position. 



I am ashamed at having to confess that my ornithological 

 zeal entirely vanished at this moment, and, overpowered by 

 my sporting ardour, I fired, instead of waiting for the further 

 development of this interesting observation. Shot dead, the 

 beautiful bird fell to the ground ; and, to my great delight, 

 I found that I had killed an old and very finely plumaged 

 female. A broad head like an owl, large bright yellow 

 eyes, a snow-white breast, lengthy powerful blue -grey legs 

 covered with a snake-like skin, long broad wings, and a 

 wide, moderately sized tail are the principal characteristics 

 of the Short-toed Eagle. 

 In my humble opinion, this bird does not deserve its 



