EIGHTH DAY. 133 



caught occasional glimpses of the Hungarian plains and the 

 deep wooded valley below us. 



On the topmost branches of a huge beech stood a Sea- 

 Eagle's nest, the only one which I had myself seen in these 

 mountains, for it is quite a rare occurrence for a Sea-Eagle 

 to retire from the woods of the Danube into the heights of 

 the Fruska-Gora, and I cannot understand what could have 

 induced the two or three pairs which I and my companions 

 found nesting in these hills to have left the splendid " auen " 

 and their hunting-grounds on the river. The Danube and 

 its forests offer the Sea-Eagle all that it needs, and even the 

 eagles which breed in the mountains fly down to the river 

 whenever they want to fetch food for their young. 



The eagle was not in its nest, but unfortunately it came 

 flying up before I could get well concealed, and circled round, 

 uttering cries of alarm. As the ambush which the keepers 

 had previously constructed was rather out of shot-range, I 

 requested the forester to stay in it, and crept right up under 

 the nesting-tree, where, as neither bushes nor tree-stems 

 afforded any hiding-place, I lay down between two large 

 stones, and covered myself with my earth-coloured Tyrolese 

 cloak. 



I had been thus lying on my back for about half an hour, 

 when the female Sea-Eagle, a very old and powerful bird, 

 sailed up, the loud flapping of its wings above my head 

 making me aware of its arrival ; but as it disappeared 

 into the nest with the usual rapidity, it was quite impossible 

 for me to succeed in getting a good shot. The forester, 

 whom I had beckoned to come up, now gave several knocks 

 on the trunk of the tree ; but the crafty bird, instead of leaving 

 the nest on my side, flew out towards the hillside in just 

 the opposite direction. The thick branches prevented my 

 getting a certain shot, and I was also unlucky enough to 

 catch my gun in my cloak, so that the first barrel went off 



