496 ORNITHOLOGICAL SKETCHES 
the whole rock, nor did we find one in any other part of the 
peninsula; while the many ineffectual attempts to procure a 
specimen which I made in all parts of Spain proved that the 
bird was extremely rare. 
From morning until night I used to ramble about the 
mountains, plains, marshes, and sea-coasts—I may safely say 
through every zone of that country, but I only once managed 
to catch a distant glimpse of a Bonelli’s Eagle. This was.in 
the range of the Picos de Europa, where the rare bird circled 
for a few minutes over a bare mountain summit, near the 
nest of a “ Stein” Hagle. 
I believe that I am right in saying that, excepting the 
Sea-Eagle, Bonelli’s is the rarest of all the resident eagles 
of Spain. It is perhaps more abundant in Southern Italy 
and Greece, but in Spain the frequency of its occurrence is 
much over-estimated by many naturalists. 
I have in various countries had many opportunities of 
observing the Osprey, which may safely be said to be the 
most widely and evenly distributed eagle in the whole world. 
Water and plenty of fish are all that it demands from a 
district before settling in it. It fishes just as readily in the 
sea as in fresh water, and adapts its nest to the nature of the 
locality where it is fishing. In treeless steppes it builds on 
the bare ground; and by the sea in the steepest precipices, as 
well as on the lowest coral-reefs. In well-wooded countries 
it selects tall thick trees, but in the high mountains the most 
inaccessible places in the rocks. Everywhere its nest retains 
the same character, being built of very coarse materials, and 
being, in comparison with the not very great size of the bird, 
always disproportionately large. In our woods one may in- 
stantly recognize it by its very peculiar shape and its dirty 
grey colour. Large trees, such as old oaks or half-withered 
pines, are always chosen, and the bird invariably places its 
