WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 11 



fact of the severe spring weather having previously crippled these 

 poor creatures beyond hope of recovery. So far, indeed, as my 

 own observations have extended, the chief food of this eagle appears 

 to be stranded fish procured in the vicinity of its maritime haunts, 

 dead sheep found on the moors, and occasionally a salmon left 

 by some scared otter a selection more in keeping with the 

 innocent life of a vulture than the plundering habits usually 

 ascribed to eagles. 



The nest of this bird is an immensely large structure, and is 

 built of sticks, bunches of heather, and pieces of turf, varied 

 sometimes by a handful or two of withered seaweed mixed with 

 wool as a sort of lining. The situation varies according to the 

 locality of the bird's haunts. On rocky headlands facing the sea 

 the nest is generally, if not always, placed on an inaccessible plat- 

 form or rough crevice, the fabric in some instances being more 

 than usually bulky so as to h'll up the inequalities before a perfectly 

 fiat surface can be attained; while in inland districts it is often 

 built on stunted trees or on the ground, especially where the birds 

 select an islet in a loch which is apparently safe against intrusion. 

 Two or three years ago there was a nest on a rowan tree growing 

 on a small island in Loch-na-Baa, in the north-west of Argyleshire; 

 it was of great bulk, and presented a most extraordinary appear- 

 ance when viewed from a little distance. MacGillivray mentions 

 having found a Sea Eagle's nest in an island in a Hebridean lake, 

 on a mound of rock not higher than could have been reached with 

 a fishing-rod, and a similar eyrie existed many years ago in an 

 island in Loch Skene in Dumfriesshire. 



Of the habits of this eagle in confinement I am unable to say 

 much; indeed, I should prefer the more noble bird, his ally the 

 Golden Eagle, as a subject for the aviary, guilty though he be of 

 clutching pet cats or other domestic prey that venture within his 

 prison bars. The Sea Eagle, however, being more susceptible of 

 kindness, is rather an interesting pet when allowed his liberty, 

 and has been known in a number of instances to liy about in a 

 tamed state. Mr Carmichael, of Lochmaddy, lately communicated 

 to me the following account of one : " A few years ago, Dr Mac- 

 Gillivray, of Eoligarry, Barra, brother of the late Professor Mac- 

 Gillivray, the well-known ornithologist, had a pet Sea Eagle which 

 was exceedingly interesting. He had a house made for it on the 

 face of a hill about a hundred yards from his house. Here it 



