* 5 *" 5 J&IRI)S OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



Family FALCONID^E. 



WHITETAILED EAGLE, Haliceetus albicilla. Of the 

 Falconidse we may include as many as thirteen out 

 of the twenty recognized British species in the list 

 of Somersetshire birds. The present species, the 

 Whitetailed Eagle, I include on the authority of 

 Yarrell, who says that " Specimens have been killed 

 in Hampshire, Devonshire, Somersetshire and 

 Shropshire," and in several other counties in 

 England, and of Montagu, who gives a description 

 of one that was killed on the Mendip Hills : he says 

 it was a very small bird, probably a male, and " that 

 its talons were blunt, as if worn in confinement;" 

 so this bird after all may only be an escape. But 

 since that time another specimen has been killed at 

 Stolford, a place near the sea between Burnham and 

 Quantock's Head, also famous for the only Somer- 

 setshire specimen of the Crane. I have not seen 

 this specimen, but I have been informed by several 

 people who have that it is a very fine mature bird. 



This bird does not appear to be very particular in 

 the matter of food, taking either fish, fowl* or flesh : 

 amongst sheep and lambs t it commits a good deal of 

 damage. Yarrell seems to think it is particularly 

 partial to venison, and especially fawns, being occa- 



* Seen feeding on a Gull (Zool. for 1804, p. 8875.) 

 f Zool. for 1864, p. 



