Crass II. SEFSAVE A-G LE. 
eave occafion to fome writers to fuppofe it to be the 
aquila barbata or bearded eagle of Pliny. The in- 
terior fides, and the tips of the feathers of the tail, 
are of a deep brown; the exterior fides of fome are 
ferruginous, in others blotched with white. The 
legs are yellow, {trong and thick; and feathered but 
little below the knees; which is an invariable fpe- 
cific difference between this and our firft fpecies.. 
This nakednefs of the legs is befides no {mall con- 
venience to a bird who preys among the waters. 
The claws are of a deep and fhinine black, ex- 
ceedingly large and ftrong, and hooked into a per- 
fect femicircle ; thofe of the hind and firft toe are 
an inch and a half long. | 
All writers agree, that this eagle feeds principal- 
ly on fifh; which it takes as they are fwimming 
near the furface *, by darting itfelf down on them; 
not by diving or {wimming, as feveral authors 
have invented, who furnifh it for that purpofe 
with one webbed foot to fwim with, and another 
divided foot to take its prey with. PéZy, with his 
ufual elegance, defcribes the manner of its fifhine. 
Supereft hahaetos, clariffima oculorum acie, librans ex 
alto fefe, vifoque in mari pifce, praeceps in eum ruens, 
et difcuffis pettore aquis rapiens. 
* Martin, {peaking of what he calls. the great eagles in the 
weftern ifles, fays, that they faften their talons in the back of 
the fifh, commonly of falmon, which are often above water, 
or on the furface. Thofe of Greenland will even take a young 
feal out of the water. 
Voz, I. N It 
169 
Foop, 
