530 



10 



nesting on the ground ; but I am inclined to believe that if these statements are closely investi- 

 gated the nests will be found to belong to some allied species, and not the bird whose history I 

 am now writing. The bird found in Eastern Europe, so closely allied to, if not identical with, 

 the Indian Aquila bifasciata, and hitherto known as Aq. clanga, nests, I believe, always on the 

 ground ; and being so nearly equal in size to the Imperial Eagle, it is very possible that the eggs 

 of the Imperial Eagle said to have been found on the ground belong to that species. Eggs of 

 that bird, obtained in the Ural, and sent to me by Mr. Sabanaeff, are in size fully equal to those 

 of the present species, but are somewhat more richly marked. 



One of the earliest accounts of its nidification is that by Mr. W. H. Hudlestone in ' The 

 Ibis ' (1860, p. 376), who writes as follows : — " One would imagine that an Eagle's nest in a 

 pollard 10 feet high was not difficult to find ; yet many had passed that way daily without 

 noticing it. Still less difficulty attended the capture ; all the romance usually attaching to such 

 a feat disappeared. Nothing remained, after due and proper identification, but to walk up and 

 take possession. The nest was of a good size, its exterior circumference being, at a guess, 

 15 feet; the interior was slightly depressed, but only enough to keep the eggs (two in number) 

 from rolling out. It was lined with wool, which rested upon an immense circular platform of 

 sticks entirely filling up the boll of the pollard, from which the young willow-branches sprang 

 upwards in a circle all round the nest. By this means the entire structure was inclosed in a sort 

 of arbour, which would screen the birds from the wind and sun, and from general observation. 

 The eggs, which were slightly incubated, resemble each other considerably — the one figured 

 measuring 2'9 in. by 2-2 in., and being of a uniform dull-white colour, with frequent marks and 

 scratches, and occasionally larger blotches of pale brownish grey." 



Mr. Farman, writing from Bulgaria, says that " nidification commences at the end of March 

 or beginning of April, the 8th of April being the earliest date at which I have found the eggs 

 (some thirty of which I have taken). I have, however, taken fresh eggs of this bird as late as 

 the first week in May. Its favourite place for building its eyry is on an isolated tree, or where 

 the trees are scattered about at some distance from one another, or a clump of two or three, at 

 the most, standing alone in the open country, but where there is little or no cultivation. 



" The nest is little more than a large flat platform of coarse sticks, about 3 feet 6 inches in 

 diameter, and piled up to the height of 18 inches or 2 feet, but in some old nests much higher. 

 The interior is slightly concave, and lined with a few smaller twigs and a little dry grass, wool, 

 pieces of old rag, or any other small rubbish that comes within their ken ; in most instances, 

 however, the lining is very scanty. 



" The number of eggs in a nest is generally two, sometimes three, never more, and not 

 unfrequently only one." 



Messrs. Elwes and Buckley, likewise writing from the same locality in Bulgaria, say that 

 " this Eagle is surprisingly common both in Macedonia and in Bulgaria, and is essentially a lover 

 of the plains, where it may be seen hunting for food in the manner of a Buzzard, or perched on 

 a solitary tree. Hardly a day was passed, when travelling over the great plains, without finding 

 some nests of this bird, which were often quite close to a well-frequented road. Many a hard and 

 unsuccessful climb they gave us in the early part of the season, from their habit of sitting on the 

 nest for several weeks before laying ; and it was some time before we could resist the temptation 

 of going up when a magnificent Eagle quietly sailed off within a few yards. 



