THE EAG LE. 193 



nest of the food that had been provided for the sup- 

 port of the young ; and, fortunately, he was never sur- 

 prised by the old ones in the commission of this act of' 

 plunder and depredation, or the consequences must have* 

 been fatal to himself. 



The eagle's nest is usually built in the most inacces- 

 sible cliff of a mountain or rock, and often shielded 

 from the weather by some jutting crag that hangs over 

 its side. One of these was found in the Peak of Der- 

 byshire, which Willoughby describes in the following 

 words : — " It was made of great sticks, one end 

 " of which rested upon the rock, and the other upon 

 11 two birch trees ; upon these was laid a layer of 

 * rushes, and over them a layer of heath, and upon 

 " the heath another coat of rushes, upon which re- 

 " posed a young one ; and by its side lay an addle4 

 " egg, a hare, a lamb, and three heath-poults : the 

 " nest was about two yards square, and had no hollow 

 " in it." 



The eagle is said to be a very long-lived animal, and 

 though they often attain an hundred years, yet seldom 

 die from age and infirmity, but from the beak turning 

 inward upon the under mandible, by which they are 

 prevented from taking any food. 



In the rear of this formidable bird follows the ring- 

 tailed eagle, the bald eagle, the white eagle, the rough- 

 footed eagle, the erne, the black eagle, the osprey, the 

 sea eagle, the crowned eagle, the eagle of Brasil, the 

 Oroonoko eagle, and the eagle of Pondicherry. 



THE CONBOE OF AMERICA. 



The condor possesses all the formidable qualities of 

 the eagle, yet in a much higher degree ; for it is not 

 only an enemy to the bird and brute creatjon, but, 



o 



