EIGHTH DAY. 133 
caught occasional glimpses of the Hungarian plains and the 
deep wooded valley below us. 
On the topmost branches of a huge beech stood a Sea- 
Eagle’s nest, the only one which I had myself seen in these 
mountains, for it is quite a rare occurrence for a Sea-Hagle 
to retire from the woods of the Danube into the heights of 
the Fruska-Gora, and I cannot understand what could have 
induced the two or three pairs which I and my companions 
found nesting in these hills to have left the splendid “ auen ” 
and their hunting-grounds on the river. The Danube and 
its forests offer the Sea-Hagle all that it needs, and even the 
eagles which breed in the mountains fly down to the river 
whenever they want to fetch food for their young. 
The eagle was not in its nest, but unfortunately it came 
flying up before I could get well concealed, and circled round, 
uttering cries of alarm. As the ambush which the keepers 
had previously constructed was rather out of shot-range, I 
requested the forester to stay in it, and crept right up under 
the nesting-tree, where, as neither bushes nor tree-stems 
afforded any hiding-place, I lay down between two largé 
stones, and covered myself with my earth-coloured Tyrolese 
cloak. 
I had been thus lying on my back for about half an hour, 
when the female Sea-Hagle, a very old and powerful bird, 
sailed up, the loud flapping of its wings above my head 
making me aware of its arrival; but as it disappeared 
into the nest with the usual rapidity, it was quite impossible 
-for me to succeed in getting a good shot. The forester, 
whom I had beckoned to come up, now gave several knocks 
on the trunk of the tree ; but the crafty bird, instead of leaving 
the nest on my side, flew out towards the hillside in just 
the opposite direction. The thick branches prevented my 
getting a certain shot, and I was also unlucky enough to 
catch my gun in my cloak, so that the first barrel went off 
