known by in England above one hundred and 
fixty years ago \ as appears by Doctor Kay or 
Cains's defcription of it, who alfo calls it an eagle. 
This bird haunts rivers, lakes, and the fea 
ihores. It builds its neft on the ground among 
reeds, and lays three or four white eggs of an 
elliptical form; rather lefs than thofe of a hen. 
It feeds chiefly on fiih J, taking them in the fame 
manner as the fea eagle does, not by fwimming; 
its feet being formed like thofe of other birds of 
prey, for the left foot is not the left palmated, as 
the illuftrious Linnaeus conjectures j\ The bird 
fio-ured in this work was a female, its weight was 
fixty-two ounces : the length twenty-three inches : 
the breadth five feet four inches : the wing when 
clofed reached beyond the end of the tail: that, as 
in all the hawk kind, confifted of twelve feathers ; 
the two middle feathers were dufky : the others 
barred alternately with a deep brown and white : 
the quill feathers of the wings were black : the 
fecondary feathers and the coverts were dufky, the 
former having their interior webs varied with black 
and white. The inner coverts white fpotted with 
brown. The figure exhibits the marks of the reft 
of the plumage. The legs were very fhort and 
ftrong: their length being only two inches and 
a quarter y their circumference two inches : their 
color a pale blue : the outward toe turns eafily 
backward, and what merits attention, the claw be¬ 
longing to it is larger than that qf the inner toe; 
in which it differs from all other birds of prey* 
but feems peculiarly neceffary to this kind, for the 
better fecuring its flippery prey : the roughnefs of 
the foies of the feet contributes to the fame end. 
j Turner fays it preys alfo on coots and other water fowl. Vide Gefn. 
av . 198. 
q. Pes fmiftcr fubpalmatus. Lin.fyjl. 91. No. 21. 
R D S. [Clafs II 
The difference in weight and other trifling parti¬ 
culars, makes us imagine that the bird Mr. 
Willoughby faw was a female 5 as the females of all 
the hawk kind, are larger, ftronger, and fiercer 
than the males ; the defence of their young, and 
the providing them food, refting chiefly on them. 
Thefe are the only fpecies of eagles, that we 
can with any certainty pronounce to be Britijh. 
Scotland is faid to produce fome other kinds y 
whofe names we fhall mention, with a brief de- 
feription to aflift future enquirers to elucidate this 
doubtful part of our ornithology ; for that rea- 
fon we fhall purfue the fame method at the end 
of every genus 3 giving, from the natural hiftorians 
of our own country, a lift of congenerous birds, 
whofe clame to a place in this work is any ways 
diiputable. 
Sibbald mentions the Melainaetos f, or the black 
eagle, fo called from the great darknefs of its plu¬ 
mage : Martin deferibes the fame fpecies*, which 
he fays is a fmall kind, but very deftru&ive to 
deer; it will feize the deer between the horns, 
and by conftantly beating it about the eyes with 
its wings, foon makes a prey of the harraffed ani¬ 
mal. The fame writers alfo fpeak of a fecond kind 
of eagle : Martin fays it is of a large fize, and 
grey color, and that it is a great deftroyer of 
lambs, fheep, and fawns : Sibbald feems to mean 
the fame fpecies under the name of Pygargus 
hinnulariuSy or the Erne y but the accounts of 
both thefe authors are too obfeure for us to deter¬ 
mine, whether it be the Pygarg or Hinnularia 
of Mr. Willoughby**. 
Hiji. Weji. JJles 37, 70. 
■rj- Hi ft. Scot. 14. 
** p. 61. 
