108 BRITISH BIRDS. 



The Spotted Eagle is still a common bird in Pomerania during the 

 breeding-season. It arrives early in April, and leaves again for the south 

 early in September. It is a somewhat local bird, being almost entirely 

 confined to forests which are swampy, no doubt in consequence of the ease 

 with which it can obtain frogs in such localities. I was surprised to find 

 how absolute this rule appeared to be in the forests near Stolp. In the 

 dry forests we searched in vain ; but in those which were swampy we never 

 failed to hear of or to find the nest of this bird. It was very late for eggs 

 of birds of prey when I visited this district ; but I saw several nests of the 

 Spotted Eagle. The first was on the 30th of May, in a forest overlooking 

 the Lantow See. The situation was charming. On three sides of the 

 lake the hills were covered with forest, and on the fourth beyond the 

 reeds, where the Great Reed- Warbler and a colony of Crested Grebes were 

 breeding, some marshy ground led to the meadows and arable land. We 

 crossed the lake, which has an area of about four square miles, in a boat, 

 and had scarcely landed before we heard the cry of a Spotted Eagle, a 

 loud, clear, rich-toned ke-up. It is said that the female often betrays the 

 position of her nest by crying for food to the male, who feeds her whilst 

 she sits. Dr. Holland and I were looking with proper ornithological 

 veneration at the large flat nest of a Black Stork, which the forester 

 pointed out to us about thirty feet from the ground in a beech, but which 

 had not been occupied for the last year or two, when we heard a rustle of 

 wings near us. Turning round we saw a large " Horst " in a lofty beech 

 about seventy feet from the ground, on which an Eagle was standing. 

 She had evidently heard us talking and had got up. Before we reached 

 the tree she took wing, descending slowly for some distance and then 

 ascending to clear the trees, so that we could see the large white spots on 

 her back quite distinctly. The tree was difficult to climb ; but with the 

 help of ropes the nest was at last reached. It was an unusually large 

 structure, four feet long, two and a half feet wide, and two feet high. 

 Like the nests of all birds of prey, it was very flat, the depression in the 

 centre not being more than four or five inches. The foundation was 

 composed of sticks nearly an inch thick ; but at the top they were very 

 slender. The final lining was slender beech-twigs with fresh green leaves 

 on them. There was also a little down, and a feather or two, which had 

 probably been accidentally rubbed off the breast of the parent bird. The 

 nest contained two eggs nearly ready for being hatched. During the 

 whole time that we were at the nest both birds continued to sail round 

 and round over us. Occasionally we heard them cry; and once one of 

 them perched on the top of one of the neighbouring trees. 



The second nest I saw was on the 6th of June. Herr von Putkammer 

 had kindly invited me to inspect a heronry on his estate ; and after dinner 

 we drove to a neighbouring forest, where Herr von Homeyer was to 



