THE KITE — THE OSPREY. 105 



That all must appear without malice prepense : 

 Who offended in this would the monarch incense ; 



one of which inhabits the Alps, the other two, Persia. It has a 

 brown back, and a black stripe above and beneath the eyes ; 

 tufts of black hair cover the nostrils, others are on the lower man- 

 dible; and similar hairs form a beard. The whole of the body 

 covered with yellow down. Four feet long ; builds in rocks, 

 and preys on quadrupeds ; will attack men when asleep ; flies 

 in flocks. 



According to this account; the Bearded Eagle must be one 

 of the largest of the tribe. 



The Milvus, Kite, Glead, or Puttock, inhabits Europe, Asia, 

 and Africa, and is well known in various parts of Great Britain; 

 about two feet long ; the cere is yeilow ; the body is ferrugi- 

 nous ; head whitish ; tail forked. Four varieties. Feeds on 

 oifal and poultry; fortels storms by its clamour ; flies placidly. 

 Eggs three, whitish with yellowish spots ; migrates into Europe 

 the beginning of April. Three other varieties. 



The Austriacus, or Austrian Kite, inhabits the woods of 

 Austria ; legs yellow ; body above chesnut, beneath brick-dust 

 colour, spotted with brown ; tail forked. Size of the Kite ; 

 feeds on birds and bats. 



The Haliceetos, Osprey, Bald Buzzard, Fishing Hawk, 

 Fish Hawk, or Fishing Eagle, inhabits the marshes of Europe, 

 America, and Siberia, and builds among reeds, sometimes on 

 ruins, sometimes on trees ; nest large, often three or four feet 

 in breadth, and from four to rive feet high, composed externally 

 of sticks; (this account of the nest is from Wilson.) It is 

 about two feet long ; feeds on fishes, which it catches by diving. 

 Body brown above, white beneath ; head white ; cere and feet 

 blue. Four varieties. The habits of this bird are, I presume, 

 similar to the Ossifragus or Sea-Eagle mentioned above, and 

 Pliny's description of its taking its prey will, most pro- 

 bably, apply to both ; but it is greatly to be lamented that so 



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