THE SHORT-TAILED EAGLE. BIRDS. THE WHITE-HEADED EAGLE. 



251 



although rarely, in France; in the Asiatic continent it 

 extends its range as far as Bengal, and in the more 

 northern regions probably still further. In Europe it 

 preys upon the smaller quadrupeds and birds, occa- 

 sionally feeding upon reptiles and even insects ; but in 

 India its preference for reptiles is so marked, that its 

 native names refer to the havoc which it makes among 

 the snakes. It does not, however, confine itself to 

 this food, but devours small quadrupeds and birds ; and 

 Mr. Elliot found a centipede in the stomach of one, 

 together with a snake two feet in length. It builds in 

 trees, and lays two or three eggs of a bluish-white 

 colour, sometimes spotted with brownish. 



THE SHORT-TAILED EAGLE (Helotarsus ecaudatus], 

 an inhabitant of the southern parts of Africa, is dis- 

 tinguished from all the other eagles by the extreme 

 shortness of its tail, which is almost entirely concealed 

 beneath the wings when these are closed. The eyes 

 are surrounded by a naked skin, which, with the cere, 

 is of a bright red colour. So short is the tail that Le 

 Vaillant, the first discoverer of the bird, fancied it to 

 be an eagle which had been deprived of its tail by some 

 accident; its aspect accordingly is very deficient in 

 grace, and its movements in the air are exceedingly 

 singular. This aerial play, which appears to be con- 

 nected with the courting of these remarkable birds, is 

 compared by Le Vaillant with the tricks of a tumbler, 

 and he gave this eagle the name of the Bateleur from 

 this circumstance. It is by no means choice in its diet, 

 but feeds freely, like the vultures, upon carrion ; never- 

 theless it frequently destroys young antelopes and 

 lambs, and also sickly sheep. Its nest is built in trees, 

 and the female lays three or four bluish-white eggs. 



THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE (Haliaetus albicilla), 

 the first of the group of sea-eagles to which we shall 

 refer, is an inhabitant of the greater part of Europe, 

 especially the northern regions of that continent, and 

 extends its range eastward as far as Lake Baikal in 

 Siberia. It is also met with in Iceland and Greenland, 

 but does not occur in North America. It is a large 

 species, the adult female measuring nearly three feet 

 in length, so that it is little inferior in size to the 

 golden eagle; its general colour is brown, lighter and 

 darker on different regions of the body, the back and 

 wings being darkest; the tail is pure white, the feet, 

 cere, and beak yellow, and the claws black. In Britain 

 it is a more common species than the golden eagle, 

 from which it differs in many important characters, 

 especially in the much greater length of the beak, and 

 the comparative slenderness of the claws. In its habits 

 it is more sluggish and vulturine than the golden eagle 

 and its immediate allies. 



The White-tailed eagle usually inhabits rocks 

 and cliffs overhanging the sea, from which it dashes 

 down impetuously to seize either birds or fishes, and 

 where seals abound it not uncommonly attacks them. 

 At other times it carries its marauding excursions 

 inland, destroying land birds and quadrupeds, and 

 evincing a particular partiality for young fawns and 

 dead deer. It is more abundant in the latitude 

 of Britain in the winter than in the summer; and, 

 according to Temminck, it follows the flocks of geese 

 which migrate annually to and from the Arctic seas. 



Nevertheless numerous specimens of these birds 

 remain throughout the summer, and breed upon the 

 rocks surrounding the Orkney and Shetland islands, 

 and other northern coasts of the British islands; 

 although from the number of them that have been 

 killed, on account of their destruction of the young 

 lambs, they are by no means so abundant as formerly. 

 The nest, which is built upon a ledge of rock, usually - 

 at a great height above the sea, is of large size, consist- 

 ing of a flat platform, about five feet in diameter, com- 

 posed of sticks, heath, dried sea-weed, grass, wool, &c. 

 Upon this are deposited the eggs, usually two in 

 number, about the size of that of the goose, but broader 

 and of a white colour, with a few pale red spots, espe- 

 cially towards the larger end. Nidification com- 

 mences about the middle of spring, and the young are 

 hatched early in June. The young are able to fly 

 about the middle of August, but the old birds generally 

 continue to feed them for some time, and, according to 

 some writers, the parents quit the neighbourhood when 

 the young birds are able to provide for themselves; 

 unlike the golden eagles, which generally drive their 

 offspring away to some distance, and often occupy the 

 same nest for seven or eight consecutive years. 



In courage the White-tailed eagle is very inferior to 

 the golden eagle, rarely attacking any large animal, 

 and feeding contentedly upon carrion of all sorts. In 

 the Shetlands they are known to sweep round the cot- 

 tages early in the morning, to pick up any poultry that 

 may be about; but, according to Dr. Edmondston, the 

 flocks of geese which are turned out in those islands to 

 pasture upon the hills during the summer and autumn, 

 are rarely attacked by the eagles, although in the 

 immediate vicinity of their haunts. "The wing of the 

 gander," he says, " which not unfrequently is uplifted 

 in defence of his young, has a moral, if not a physical 

 power, which the robber Erne seems to quail under." 

 The same gentleman tells us that, " occasionally, during 

 warm weather, skate and halibut bask on the surface 

 of the water, and the eagle pounces on them; but 

 several instances have occurred of this aquatic hunt 

 being fatal to him. If the fish is not so large as to be 

 able immediately to drag him under the water, he 

 elevates his wings, and in this way, if the wind happens 

 to be blowing on the land, he often manages to reach 

 it in safety." On reaching the shore, however, he is 

 compelled to liberate his claws with his beak, and it is 

 this circumstance that renders these piscatorial exploits 

 so dangerous, unless the fish captured be of the right 

 size, and the wind in the right direction. The Sea eagle 

 feeds freely upon any dead fish that may be thrown up 

 on the shore, and he seems to perceive these objects 

 from a great height in the air. 



THE WHITE-HEADED EAGLE (Haliaetus leucoce- 

 phahts), which is also called the BALD EAGLE, is an 

 abundant species in the United States of North America, 

 where it takes the place of the white-tailed eagle 

 of Europe. It exceeds the European species in size, 

 and especially in extent of wing, but, like it, inhabits 

 the vicinity of the sea, and also of the lakes and rivers. 

 In its general habits it greatly resembles the white- 

 tailed eagle, feeding with avidity upon carrion, and 

 exhibiting a decided partiality for fish. In Wilson's 



