ERNE. 1 1 



example of 'the ruling passion strong in death,' and an un- 

 wonted passage in the life and death of a fish, in whose case 

 the usual order of things in the matter of hooking was reversed. 



The following somewhat similar story is related by Bishop 

 Stanley: "A halibut, a large fiat-fish, resembling a turbot, 

 reposing on or near the surface of the water, was perceived 

 by an Erne, which immediately pounced down and struck his 

 talons into the fish with all his force. Should the halibut be 

 too strong, the Eagle, it is said is sometimes, but rarely, 

 drowned in the struggle. In this case, however, as more 

 frequently happens, he overcame the fish, on which he remained 

 as if floating on a raft, and then spreading out his wide wings, 

 he made use of them as sails, and was driven by the wind 

 towards the shore." 



The Erne, like the Golden Eagle, is said to have not un- 

 frequentl3 r supplied the wants of different persons in the 

 Hebrides, by the food it had brought to its nest in abundance, 

 for its young. It does not, as that bird, attack those who 

 molest its nestlings, but there are two curious accounts on 

 record of its assailing, in an unprovoked manner, persons 

 whom it had surprised in hazardous situations on the edges of 

 some dangerous cliffs. Mr. Leadbeater had one of these birds 

 which became quite tame, and even affectionate to those about it. 



It is said that the Erne is more plentiful in Britain in the 

 winter than at any other season, which, if so, would make 

 it appear that it partially migrated. It builds in March, and 

 sits very close, but is by no means so courageous as the 

 Golden Eagle in defending its brood; one instance to the contrary 

 is indeed on record, but the exception only proves the rule. 



The nest, which is about five feet wide, and very flat, having 

 only a slight hollow in the middle, is a mass of sticks, heather, 

 or sea- weed, as the case may be, arranged in a slovenly manner, 

 and lined with any soft material, such as grass, wool, or feathers. 

 It is placed on some precipice, or in the hollow of a crag or 

 rock, overhanging the sea, or else on some inland fastness, 

 perhaps an island in a lake, or sometimes on a rock at the 

 edge of one. The male bird is said to take his turn at incubation 

 with the female. The Erne is less strongly attached to its 

 haunts than the Golden Eagle, but it seems in some degree 

 fond of them, and not unfrequently returns to the same breeding 

 place for several years in succession. 



The eggs, which, by a merciful provision, are few in number, 

 as are those of the other Eagles, one, or at the most, two, 



