230 CLASS AVES. 



constituted like that of the other eagles' nests, but it is covered 

 with a large quantity of small wood, moss, and roots, which give 

 it a thickness of about two feet. This bed is again covered 

 with small bits of dry wood, on which the female lays two eggs 

 almost round, entirely white, and more than three inches in 

 diameter. 



We have engraved a figure of an eagle exhibited for some 

 time in Mr. Cross's valuable and extensive collection at Exeter 

 Change, said to be from Africa. It seems intermediate between 

 the eagles properly so called, and the Morphni, or eagle hawks 

 of Cuvier. We cannot satisfactorily refer it to either of the 

 known species, and have adopted the name given to it by 

 Mr. Cross. 



The Wedge-tailed Eagle, A. Fuscosa, is so named on the foot of 

 the stand in the Museum at Paris. Its size is about that of the 

 Golden Eagle, and its principal character is in the shape of the 

 tail. 



We now come to the section of the Fisher Eagles. 

 The Osprey, or Ossifrage, is so named, because fragments of 

 bones of considerable magnitude have been found in its stomach. 

 It is found in the different countries of Europe and North Ame- 

 rica. Though it appears generally to prefer cold and even frozen 

 regions, such as Russia, Siberia, and Kamtschatka, Poiret has 

 seen it in Barbary. From its usual habitat on the sea-shore, 

 on the banks of great rivers and lakes, over which it is continu- 

 ally hovering, it has received the denomination of the great 

 sea-eagle. Fish is the principal article of its subsistence, which 

 it seizes by darting on it when it is on a level with the water, 

 and sometimes even by plunging after it. It also preys on sea- 

 birds, young seals, hares, and even lambs. It hunts and fishes 

 both by night and day, having the double advantage of seeing 

 better in daylight than the nocturnal birds, and by night than 

 the diurnal. The morning and evening, however, are the prin- 

 cipal times which it devotes to this exercise. Its flight is neither 

 as elevated nor as rapid as that of the great eagle, and not being 

 so long-sighted, it does not pursue its prey so far. 



