76 HISTORY OF 



with the gentleman who made him a present of 

 it ; but what its age was when the latter received 

 it from Ireland, is unknown. The same bird also 

 furnishes a proof of the truth of the other remark; 

 having once, through the neglect of servants, en- 

 dured hunger for twenty-one days without any 

 sustenance whatever. 



Those eagles which are kept tame are fed with 

 every kind of flesh, whether fresh or corrupting ; 

 and when there is a deficiency of that, bread or 

 any other provision will suffice. It is very dan- 

 gerous approaching them if not quite tame ; and 

 they sometimes send forth a loud piercing lament- 

 able cry, which renders them still more formid- 

 able. The eagle drinks but seldom ; and perhaps, 

 when at liberty, not at all, as the blood of its prey 

 serves to quench its thirst. The eagle's excre- 

 ments are always soft and moist, and tinged with 

 that whitish substance which, as was said before, 

 mixes in birds with the urine. 



Such are the general characteristics and habi- 

 tudes of the eagle ; however, in some these habi- 

 tudes differ, as the Sea Eagle and the Osprey 

 live chiefly upon fish, and consequently build 

 their nests on the sea-shore, and by the sides of 

 rivers, on the ground among reeds ; and often lay 

 three or four eggs, rather less than those of a hen, 

 of a white elliptical form. They catch their prey, 

 which is chiefly fish, by darting down upon them 

 from above. The Italians compare the violent 

 descent of these birds on their prey to the fall of 

 lead into water, and call them Aquila Piombina, 

 or the Leaden Eagle. 



