The Short-tailed Eagle. BIKDS. The White-headed Eagle. 251 
although rarely, in France; in the Asiatic continent it 
extends its range as far as Bengal, and in the more 
northern regions probably still further. In Europe it 
preys upon the smaller quadrupeds and birds, occa- 
sionally feeding upon reptiles and even insects; but in 
India its preference for reptiles is so marked, that its 
native names refer to the havoc which it makes among 
the snakes. It does not, however, confine itself to 
this food, hut devours small quadrupeds and birds ; and 
Mr. Elliot found a centipede in the stomach of one, 
together with a snake two feet in length. It builds in 
trees, and lays two or three eggs of a bluish-white 
colour, sometimes spotted with brownish. 
THE SHOHT-TAILED EAGLE [Helotarsus ecaudatus), 
an inhabitant of the southern parts of Africa, is dis- 
tinguished from all the other eagles by the extreme 
shortness of its tail, which is almost entirely concealed 
beneath the Avings when these are closed. The eyes 
are suirounded by a naked skin, which, with the cere, 
is of a bright red colour. So short is the tail that Le 
Vaillant, the first discoverer of the bird, fancied it to 
be an eagle which had been deprived of its tail by some 
accident; its aspect accordingly is very deficient in 
grace, and its movements in the air are exceedingly 
singular. This aerial play, which appears to be con- 
nected with the courting of these remarkable birds, is 
compared by Le Vaillant with the tricks of a tumbler, 
and he gave this eagle the name of the Bateleur from 
this chcumstance. It is by no means choice in its diet, 
but feeds freely, like the vultures, upon carrion ; never- 
theless it frequently destroys young antelopes and 
lambs, and also sickly sheep. Its nest is built in trees, 
and the female lays three or four bluish- white eggs. 
THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE (Haliaetus albicilla), 
the first of the group of sea-eagles to which we shall 
refer, is an inhabitant of the greater part of Europe, 
especially the northern regions of that continent, and 
extends its range eastward as far as Lake Baikal in 
Siberia. It is also met with in Iceland and Greenland, 
but does not occur in North America. It is a large 
species, the adult female measuring nearly three feet 
in length, so that it is little inferior in size to the 
golden eagle ; its general colour is brown, lighter and 
darker on different regions of the body, the back and 
wings being darkest; the tail is pure white, the feet, 
cere, and beak yellow, and the claws black. In Britain 
it is a more common species than the golden eagle, 
from which it differs in many important characters, 
especially in the much greater length of the beak, and 
the comparative slenderness of the claws. In its habits 
it is more sluggish and vulturine than the golden eagle 
and its immediate allies. 
The White-tailed eagle usually inhabits rocks 
and cliffs overhanging the sea, from which it dashes 
down impetuously to seize either birds or fishes, and 
where seals abound it not uncommonly attacks them. 
At other times it carries its marauding excursions 
inland, destroying land birds and quadrupeds, and 
evincing a particular partiality for young fawns and 
dead deer. It is more abundant in the latitude 
of Britain in the winter than in the summer; and, 
according to Temminck, it follows the flocks of geese 
which migrate annually to and from the Arctic seas. 
Nevertheless numerous specimens of these birds 
remain throughout the summer, and breed upon the 
rocks surrounding the Orkney and Shetland islands, 
and other northern coasts of the British islands; 
although from the number of them that have been 
killed, on account of their destruction of the young 
lambs, they are by no means so abundant as formerly. 
The nest, which is built upon a ledge of rock, usually 
at a great height above the sea, is of large size, consist- 
ing of a flat platform, about five feet in diameter, com- 
posed of sticks, heath, dried sea-weed, gi'ass, wool, &c. 
Upon this are deposited the eggs, usually two in 
number, about the size of that of the goose, hut broader 
and of a white colour, with a few pale red spots, espe- 
cially towards the larger end. Nidification com- 
mences about the middle of spring, and the young are 
hatched early in June. The young are able to fly 
about the middle of August, but the old birds generally 
continue to feed them for some time, and, according to 
some writers, the parents quit the neighbourhood when 
the young birds are able to provide for themselves ; 
unlike the golden eagles, which generally drive their 
offspring away to some distance, and often occupy the 
same nest for seven or eight consecutive years. 
In courage the White-tailed eagle is very inferior to 
the golden eagle, rarely attacking any large animal, 
and feeding contentedly upon carrion of all sorts. In 
the Shetlands they are known to sweep roimd the cot- 
tages early in the morning, to pick up any poultry that 
may be about; but, according to Dr. Edmondston, the 
flocks of geese which are turned out in those islands to 
pasture upon the hills during the summer and autumn, 
are rarely attacked by the eagles, although in the 
immediate vicinity of their haunts. “The wing of the 
gander,” he says, “ which not unfrequently is uplifted 
in defence of his young, has a moral, if not a physical 
power, which the robber Erne seems to quail under.” 
The same gentleman tells us that, “ occasionally, during 
warm weather, skate and halibut bask on the surface 
of the water, and the eagle pounces on them; but 
several instances have occurred of this aquatic hunt 
being fatal to him. If the fish is not so large as to be 
able immediately to drag him under the water, he 
elevates his wings, and in this way, if the wind happens 
to be blowing on the land, he often manages to reach 
it in safety.” On reaching the shore, however, he is 
compelled to liberate his claws with his beak, and it is 
this circumstance that renders these piscatorial exploits 
so dangerous, unless the fish captured he of the right 
size, and the wind in the right direction. The Sea eagle 
feeds freely upon any dead fish that may be thrown up 
on the shore, and he seems to perceive these objects 
from a great height in the air. 
THE WHITE-HEADED EAGLE [Haliaetus leucoce- 
phalus), which is also called the B.^ld Eagle, is an 
abundant species in theUnited States of North America, 
where it takes the place of the white-tailed eagle 
of Europe. It exceeds the European species in size, 
and especially in extent of whig, but, like it, inhabits 
the vicinity of the sea, and also of the lakes and rivers. 
In its general habits it greatly resembles the white- 
tailed eagle, feeding with avidity upon carrion, and 
exhibiting a decided partiality for fish. In Wilson’s 
