NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BERMUDAS. 269 



purple, and the tail a light drab, glossed with the same 

 black-purple towards the extremity. It proved to be a male 

 bird, and was exceedingly fat. 



June Btk. — On returning from my office this afternoon 

 my attention was drawn, by my little boy, to a bird soaring 

 over the water of Hamilton Harbour. It was of large size, 

 I should say very considerably larger than the Osprey, and 

 appeared to be of heavier and slower flight ; although in de- 

 scribing circle after circle at an elevation varying from thirty 

 to forty feet, it was quite beautiful to watch the perfect ease 

 with which it sailed to windward against a strong easterly 

 breeze without striking the air with its wings. This bird 

 appeared to be of a deep chocolate colour above and below ; 

 with a tail rather short than otherwise, square at the end, 

 and the " primaries " standing separate from each other at 

 their extremities. After spending a quarter of an hour in 

 beating the waters of our harbour, the stranger slowly 

 wended his way towards the Sound. I am strongly inclined 

 to think this must be a " Sea-Eagle." Its wings were not 

 long and pointed, but wide, ending, as before observed, in 

 quill feathers, separate and distinct at their extremities. 



The similarity of this bird to the one seen by me on April 

 28th, 1852, struck me at once; though, in the present 

 instance, it exhibited far more activity of wing. Doubt- 

 less the young of the Bald, or White-headed Sea-Eagle 

 {Falco leucocephalus of Audubon). 



June $otk. — Lieutenant Clutterbuck, Adjutant of the 

 56th Regiment, tells me that two days ago he obtained 

 from Mr. Harford, a Mother Cary's Chicken {Thalassidromo 

 wilsonii of Audubon), which had been shot by Mr. Harford 

 while fishing at some miles distant from the shore. 



