IMPERIAL EAGLE. 71 
are occasionally found in holes in cliffs and rocks. I have seen one or 
two such nests. As a rule, the nest is made in the body of the tree, 
and at the top, but I have seen two nests which were placed on 
projecting forked branches, though such a position is very unusual. 
The nest is made of large and small branches and sticks, and is lined 
with pieces of wool and rag, or tufts of dry grass — in fact, with any- 
thing soft that the bird can lay hold of. It is about four or five feet 
broad, but very shallow, being little more than sufficiently deep to 
keep the eggs from rolling out, but is a tolerably compact structure. 
The birds, if undisturbed, return yearly to the same nest, and gene- 
rally make some addition to it, so that in time an enormous mass of 
material is accumulated. This bird lays early in April. The eggs 
vary from two to three in number, but, though the latter is not rare, 
two is the rule. When the bird has been sitting some time it becomes 
quite tame, and will allow its nest to be approached without showing 
any signs of fear. I once walked straight up to a tree in which there 
was a nest, and the bird plainly visible sitting thereon; I stood for 
some time under the tree talking to a Tartar I had with me, but 
it sat still, and did not appear in the least disconcerted; and it did not 
think proper to move till we had thrown up several stones, and then 
it merely stood upon the edge of the nest, and we had to shout and 
wave our hands before it would fly away. It is by no means unusual 
to find jackdaws and other small birds, such as sparrows, nesting in 
the same tree as this bird. On one occasion I came upon a whole 
colony of jackdaws breeding in the same tree as an Imperial Eagle. 
One of the favourite breeding spots in the Dobrudsha of the Imperial 
Eagle is the valley which winds up country from the head of Lake 
S . This valley, which is about fifteen miles long, and somewhat 
more than a quarter of a mile broad at its widest part, is flanked on 
the south for the first half of its length by high cliffs and hills, the 
line of which is broken by lofty quarries and deep ravines cutting it 
here and there. Down this valley flows a small muddy stream, along 
the course of which, and opposite or near every village where the nature 
of the ground has permitted a sufficient fall, there is erected a wretched 
water-mill, close to which as a rule a few willow trees grow; and in 
nearly every clump a nest and eggs of the Imperial Eagle may be found 
during the breeding season, provided always they have not been robbed 
by the Tartars — a not unfrequent occurrence. 
I first visited this valley in May, 1864, and took only one egg; but 
I saw several injured nests which had been robbed just before. When 
I went again in 1867 all the nests were in good repair, and all con- 
tained eggs. I took in this trip a pair of eggs from a tree close to 
