FALCON. 49 



near the lakes, for the convenience of catching fish, their principal 

 food, darting npon them in the water, in the manner of the Osprey ; 

 said also to pursue that bird, after it has obtained a fish, and 

 to oblige him to quit his prey, as is done by the Bald Eagle. The 

 Sea-Eagle probably feeds sometimes on other birds, as the remains 

 liave been found in the nest. 



The place of breeding is in the more northern parts ; in the 

 colder months approaching southward, at which time only we have 

 heard of their being in the warmer counties. In the year 1 795, one 

 was shot in Berkshire, and another in March, 1810, in Lincolnshire, 

 on the estate of Sir Jos. Banks ; in the collection of Mr. Bullock. It 

 is common in many paiis of Germany, where the flesh of the young 

 bird is thought not unsavoury; well known also in Russia and 

 Siberia; freqvient in Kamtschatka; found in summer, even on the 

 Arctic coast, and no less common about the Caspian Sea, and is the 

 same as that mentioned by Kolben ; extends also to the Cape of Good 

 Hope. He says this bird feeds on tortoises, carrying them up into the 

 air, and letting them fall on a rock to break their shells; hence it 

 has obtained the name of Bone-breaker. 



In North iimerica the size is superior, very common even as high 

 as Newfoundland, where it preys on land and sea fowls, also young 

 seals, which it seizes floating on the water. 



It is the opinion of some who have written on the subject, that this 

 bird is no other than the Bald Eagle, in imperfect plumage, and it has 

 been obser\'ed, that it is six or seven years before it is in complete 

 feather ; to this the author of the American Zoology assents, and brings 

 more than one proof of the circumstance. 



such numbers were brought in, that the price waa reduced to 3*. 6d. In the Orkney Islands 

 was a custom, if not now prevalent, that whoever shoots an eagle may lay claim to a hen out 

 of every house in the parish where the bird was killed. 

 VOL. I. H 



