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DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY. 
inches in length. Typically an inhabitant of the Caspian region, it ranges east¬ 
wards to India and Burma. The white-bellied sea-eagle (H leucogaster ) is still 
smaller than the last, its length not exceeding 28 inches. It differs from all the 
others by the tail being black with a broad terminal band of white; and is further 
characterised by the white head, neck, and under-parts; the general tint of the 
upper surface being grey slightly shaded with brown. This eagle extends from 
India and Ceylon through the Malayan region to Australia. The handsomest of 
the whole group is the African sea-eagle (H. vocifer), which is smaller than all the 
northern species, attaining a length of only 25 inches in the female. Resembling the 
white-headed sea-eagle, in its white head, neck, and tail, this species, which is figured 
on p. 210, is distinguished by the white area extending on to the interscapular region 
above and including the breast below, and by the whole of the abdomen, together 
with the axillaries, being of a deep chestnut hue, while the upper-parts are blackish 
brown, passing into black on the primary quills. The species is confined to Africa, 
where it ranges over the whole continent. It is replaced in Madagascar by the 
Madagascar sea-eagle ( Hvociferoides), distinguished by the white being confined to 
the head and neck, the brown under-parts, and the chestnut under wing-coverts; 
the latter character distinguishing it from the larger white-headed sea-eagle, in 
which these coverts are brown. An extinct sea-eagle occurs in the Miocene deposits 
of France. 
Although several of the species are more commonly found in the neighbour¬ 
hood of the coasts, sea-eagles are also met with in the interior of the various 
continents and islands in the neighbourhood of the larger rivers and lakes. 
Writing of the white-tailed sea-eagle, Mr. Seebolim observes that “ the haunts of 
this noble-looking bird are the barren hills of the Hebrides and the adjacent isles, 
and the wild mountain country of the mainland in the west. On the bold and 
rocky headlands of this wild, rugged coast, whose hoary peaks are washed by 
the treacherous waters of the Minch, the sea-eagle finds a congenial home. In 
Pomerania, especially between Stettin and the Baltic, the sea-eagle is a common 
resident, building in forests. It builds an enormous nest, sometimes six or 
eight feet in diameter, near the top of a pine, or on the horizontal branch of an 
oak or beech, preferring forests near inland seas and large lakes. Instances have 
been known of its breeding in the same ‘ horst ’ for twenty years in succession. 
Every year some addition is made to the nest, until it becomes some five or six feet 
high. Occasionally a pair of sea-eagles have two ‘ horsts,’ which are used alternately. 
They are shy birds and leave the nest at the least alarm, but do not easily forsake 
their old home. If the eggs are taken early in the season, the birds will frequently 
lay again in the same nest. They make a very flat nest, and generally line it on 
the top with moss. The male and female are said to sit alternately, and the 
female is said to be shyer than the male at the nest. Two is the usual number of 
eggs, but frequently only one is found; in rare cases as many as three are laid. 
Eggs may be taken from the first week in March to the middle of April.” The 
nest may be situated either on rocks, in trees, or on the ground. In some countries 
the cliffs on which it is built are of comparatively easy access; but at the present 
day, in the Hebrides and formerly on the west coast of Ireland, these birds build 
on ledges of the most stupendous cliffs, where their eyries can only be approached 
