ON ORNITHOLOGY. 447 



of Draueck, and close to it) all the nests of the Sea-Eagle are 

 situated in the thickest woods of the auen, where they are 

 protected hy a network of the arms of the Danube and hy 

 the yearly spring-floods. There I never found a nest in the 

 dry inland woods, not even in those lying near the region of 

 the auen. It was, however, otherwise in Slavonia, where 

 the Danube is hemmed in by hills on the right bank, while 

 on the left there is but a narrow strip of auen, which 

 affords very insufficient breeding-grounds for the Sea-Eagle. 

 In that part of the country it places its nest at a considerable 

 distance from the river, and not only in the inland woods, 

 but also in the mountain-valleys of the Fruska-Gora. 



Of the nineteen nests which we visited, two stood exposed 

 on the very tops of the trees, all the rest on horizontal 

 branches, more or less close to the main stem, three being on 

 secondary boughs, the rest quite close to it. Six were built 

 on oaks, five on black and five on white poplars, two on 

 beeches, and one on a wild pear-tree. The sizes of the nests 

 varied very much according to their age, and we could easily 

 tell the newly constructed ones by their smaller bulk and the 

 freshness of their materials. The old nests, which must have 

 decorated the trees for a great many years, were more than 

 six feet and half in diameter, and of a grey weathered colour. 

 Every year the nest becomes somewhat larger, for the eagle 

 always makes a few repairs before it begins to breed. The 

 biggest that I saw stood on the highest point of an old 

 pear-tree visible from afar ; it had been taken possession of 

 by a very 'old pale-coloured individual, and was a veritable 

 stronghold of its mighty occupant. 



The Sea-Eagle selects thick high trees for its dwelling, and 

 it is only when compelled by sheer necessity that it puts up 

 with a thin stem. 



In a perfectly dry deciduous wood, a few miles from the 

 village of Kovil, near the junction of the Theiss, I found an 



