160 FIFTEEN DAYS ON THE DANUBE. 
of stalking up to it, for the bushes were too low to offer 
sufficient cover, and as soon as I had got within some two 
hundred yards the eagle, a very large and finely marked 
female, flew quickly out of the nest. A hut of boughs had 
been far too hastily arranged by the jaigers, for I well knew 
that the place where they had put it was so visible that the 
bird would be sure to discover me. I therefore sent away 
the men, and crouched down close to the nest among the 
thick bushes that grew by the side of a little stream. 
The female eagle kept constantly circling round the 
neighbourhood, and I often heard it uttering its clear sharp 
call, its whole behaviour being very restless and mistrustful. 
However, at last the great bird quieted down and came 
rapidly to the nest, flying once round the tree. It was a bad 
place to shoot from, and I was in a particularly unpleasant 
position when I fired. My first barrel evidently wounded 
it, but when I fired again it was already rather too far 
off. I sprang up to see where it would fall, but soon lost 
sight of it down the valley, and though I knew the direction 
in which it had doubtless dropped, the almost impenetrable 
nature of the undergrowth made all search useless. 
By the advice of the jiger I now changed my position, 
and patiently waited to see what would happen, for there was 
still a good chance that the male, which had not shown itself 
near the nest for a long time, would come back to it with 
food; and this was just what took place, for the handsome bird, 
which was recognizable at a distance by its smaller size and 
less powerful build, soon approached my hiding-place, at first 
circling cautiously round it, sometimes settling on a distant 
oak, and only drawing nearer by degrees. Suddenly I heard 
a rush above my head—the eagle was at its nest. 
Before I could get a good shot I heard the bird perch in a 
very leafy part of the tree, but could not see it from where I 
was, and to have taken the slightest step forwards would have 
