208 DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY. 



inches in length. Typically an inhabitant of the Caspian region, it ranges east- 

 wards to India and Burma. The white-bellied sea-eagle (H. leucogaster) is still 

 smaller than the last, its length not exceeding 28 inches. It differs from all the 

 others by the tail being black with a broad terminal band of white ; and is further 

 characterised by the white head, neck, and under-parts; the general tint of the 

 upper surface being grey slightly shaded with brown. This eagle extends from 

 India and Ceylon through the Malayan region to Australia. The handsomest of 

 the whole group is the African sea-eagle (H. vocifer), which is smaller than all the 

 northern species, attaining a length of only 25 inches in the female. Resembling the 

 white-headed sea-eagle, in its white head, neck, and tail, this species, which is figured 

 on p. 210, is distinguished by the white area extending on to the interscapular region 

 above and including the breast below, and by the whole of the abdomen, together 

 with the axillaries, being of a deep chestnut hue, while the upper-parts are blackish 

 brown, passing into black on the primary quills. The species is confined to Africa, 

 where it ranges over the whole continent. It is replaced in Madagascar by the 

 Madagascar sea-eagle (H. vociferoides), distinguished by the white being confined to 

 the head and neck, the brown under-parts, and the chestnut under wing-coverts ; 

 the latter character distinguishing it from the larger white-headed sea-eagle, in 

 which these coverts are brow T n. An extinct sea-eagle occurs in the Miocene deposits 

 of France. 



Although several of the species are more commonly found in the neighbour- 

 hood of the coasts, sea-eagles are also met with in the interior of the various 

 continents and islands in the neighbourhood of the larger rivers and lakes. 

 Writing of the white-tailed sea-eagle, Mr. Seebohm observes that " the haunts of 

 this noble-looking bird are the barren hills of the Hebrides and the adjacent isles, 

 and the wild mountain country of the mainland in the west. On the bold and 

 rocky headlands of this wild, rugged coast, whose hoary peaks are washed by 

 the treacherous waters of the Minch, the sea-eagle finds a congenial home. In 

 Pomerania, especially between Stettin and the Baltic, the sea-eagle is a common 

 resident, building in forests. It builds an enormous nest, sometimes six or 

 eight feet in diameter, near the top of a pine, or on the horizontal branch of an 

 oak or beech, preferring forests near inland seas and large lakes. Instances have 

 been known of its breeding in the same ' horst ' for twenty years in succession. 

 Every year some addition is made to the nest, until it becomes some five or six feet 

 high. Occasionally a pair of sea-eagles have two ' horsts,' which are used alternately. 

 They are shy birds and leave the nest at the least alarm, but do not easily forsake 

 their old home. If the eggs are taken early in the season, the birds will frequently 

 lay again in the same nest. They make a very flat nest, and generally line it on 

 the top with moss. The male and female are said to sit alternately, and the 

 female is said to be shyer than the male at the nest. Two is the usual number of 

 eggs, but frequently only one is found ; in rare cases as many as three are laid. 

 Eggs may be taken from the first week in March to the middle of April." The 

 nest may be situated either on rocks, in trees, or on the ground. In some countries 

 the cliffs on which it is built are of comparatively easy access ; but at the present 

 day, in the Hebrides and formerly on the west coast of Ireland, these birds build 

 on ledges of the most stupendous cliffs, where their eyries can only be approached 



