insults; he seldom devours the whole of his prey, but like the Lion, leaves the fragments to other animals: except when famishing with hunger, he disdains to feed on carrion. The eyes of the Eagle have the glare of those of the Lion, and are nearly of the same colour; the claws are of the same shape, and the cry of both is powerful and terrible: destined for war and plunder, they are equally fierce, bold, and untractable. Such is the resemblance which that ingenious and fanciful writer has pictured of these two noble animals; the characters of both are striking and prominent, and hence the Eagle is said to extend his dominion over the birds, as the Lion over the quadrupeds.

The same writer also observes, that, in a state of nature, the Eagle never engages in a solitary chace but when the female is confined to her eggs or her young: at this season the return of the smaller birds affords plenty of prey, and he can with ease provide for the sustenance of himself and his mate; at other times they unite their exertions, and are always seen close together, or at a short distance from each other. Those who have an opportunity of observing their motions, say, that the one beats the bushes, whilst the other, perched on an eminence, watches the flight of the prey. They often soar out of the reach of human sight; and, notwithstanding the immense distance, their cry is still heard, and then resembles the yelping of a dog. Though a voracious bird, the Eagle can endure hunger for a long time. A common Eagle, caught in a fox trap, is said to have passed five weeks without the least food, and did not appear sensibly weakened till towards the last week, when a period was put to its existence.

THIS is the largest of the genus; it measures from the point of the bill to the extremity of the tail, upwards of three feet; from tip to tip of the wings, above eight; weighs from sixteen to eighteen pounds. The

male is smaller, and does not weigh more than twelve pounds. The bill is of a deep blue; cere yellow: eyes large, deep sunk, and covered by a brow projecting; the iris is of a fine bright yellow, and sparkles with uncommon lustre. The general colour is deep brown, mixed with tawny on the head and neck: quills chocolate, with white shafts; tail black spotted with ash: legs yellow, feathered down to the toes, which are very scaly; the claws are remarkably large; the middle one is two inches in length.

This noble bird is found in various parts of Europe; but abounds most in the warmer regions, seldom being met with farther north than the fifty-fifth degree of latitude. It is known to breed in the mountainous parts of Ireland: lays three, and sometimes four eggs, though it seldom happens that more than two are prolific. Pennant says there are instances, though rare, of their having bred in Snowdon Hills. Wallis, in his Natural History of Northumberland says, "it formerly had its aerie on the highest and steepest part of Cheviot. In the beginning of January, 1735, a very large one was shot near Warkworth, which measured from point to point of its wings, eleven feet and a quarter."

Is the common Eagle of Buffon, and, according to that author, includes two varieties, the Brown and the Black Eagle; they are both of the same brown colour, and distinguished only by a deeper shade, and are

nearly of the same size: in both, the upper part of the head and neck is mixed with rust colour, and the base of the larger feathers marked with white; the bill is of a dark horn colour; cere bright yellow; iris hazel; between the bill and the eye is a naked skin of dirty brown: legs feathered to the toes, which are yellow, claws black: the tail is distinguished by a white ring, which covers about two-thirds of its length; the remaining part is black.

The Ringtailed Eagle is more numerous and diffused than the Golden Eagle, and prefers more northern climates. It is found in France, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, and in America as far north as Hudson's Bay.