94 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



build their nests on the shores of the northern seas — in 

 Norway, Sweden, on the coasts of the North Sea and the 

 Baltic, and in the great forests of Russia and Northern 

 Germany. It has also several favourite resorts along the 

 large rivers of Southern Russia near the Black Sea. 



On the Continent, irate keepers on many of the estates 

 take advantage of the Sea Eagle's great fondness for hares 

 and rabbits, and lay out a poisoned rabbit on the bank of a 

 river or lake frequented by these birds. Many are thus 

 destroyed. 



Sheep, fawns, and poultry are occasionally killed and 

 eaten by this Eagle, but of course its diet is chiefly fish. 

 It has sometimes been seen to carry a fish in each of its 

 taloned feet, and drop one or both alive into the nest for 

 its young ones to seize upon and eat. 



But in captivity the Sea Eagle's tastes are apt to 

 become, like Sam Weller's knowledge of London, " extensive 

 and peculiar." I have read of one which was kept at 

 Oxford, which did not hesitate to gobble up a hedgehog ! 

 What kind of throat it must have had to allow the passage 

 of so prickly a mouthful we can only imagine. The same 

 bird used to make frequent attempts at getting a meal off 

 a tortoise ! 



North America has its Sea Eagle, a bold, bluff, piratical 

 fellow, chiefly known for the way in which he robs the 

 Osprey of its catch of fish. This is the Bald-head or 

 WHITE-HEADED EAGLE, whose tail is also white, like 

 his European cousin, and who is even more given to building 

 in tall trees. He and his mate are very devoted parents, 

 and have been known to perish rather than forsake their 

 nest. 



He is a greedy feaster when anything big falls in his 

 way. One naturalist describes a Bald-head sitting stately 



