In their natural condition of wild freedom few become thus enfeebled by age; their life of strife, tempestuous seasons, or the hunter's rifle, secures the means of terminating existence before weakness unfits the king of birds to pursue, as of old, his prey.

We have all heard of that tuft of broom-plant (planta genista) which the paternal ancestors of our Henry II. wore in their helmets on the battle-field, and from which a kingly line of warriors derived the far-famed name of Plantagenet. No plant growing in the Indian forests has been thus honoured by the braves of the red men, for the feathers of the golden eagle supplied a war-plume to the chief,- -a symbol much more suited to the warrior's head than the humble broom-plant of the European vales.

So highly did the chiefs of the American Indians prize these plumes, that one of their most valuable steeds was not deemed too high a price for a few feathers from the tail of the golden eagle. Perhaps the fallen condition of these once powerful tribes may have lessened the value of the eagle plume, but in their days of barbaric power, the settler from civilised lands often beheld, amid the flash of rifles and the flames of burning villages, the tall crest of some savage chief. Nor was it only in the heat of battle that these feathers were worn by the Indians, they were seen at the festive meetings of the tribes, and were attached to the celebrated calumet, or pipe of peace, so often smoked by Indian and European in token of brotherhood. From this circumstance this noble bird has been often called the calumet eagle.

This important member of the winged kingdom is not often seen in the British islands, and the tourist may wander long before he meets with one soaring above our hills, or hovering along our cliffs. But sometimes even the Englishman may see this bird of the mountain and the wild sailing high in air, or watching from some lonely rock for prey. Of course, the man who always keeps within hearing of St. Paul's clock, or limits his voyages to the Nore or the Medway, will not expect to see the golden eagle; but on the cliffs of Devonshire and Cornwall it is sometimes found; the sea-beaten rocks of Durham and Northumberland are also not unfrequently visited by this bird. Very rarely it has been seen in the inland parts of Derbyshire, Norfolk, and even Suffolk, and one was actually shot some years ago in Sussex.

Those who live on the Scottish hills have greater chances of meeting with the golden eagle, and the inhabitants of the Hebrides, the Orkneys, and the Shetlands, may often witness the habits of this bird amid the grand scenery of its breeding-places.

Probably the English sportsman feels no regret for the absence of the golden eagle from the neighbourhood of his pheasant preserves; nor would the farmer in the lambing season contem

plate the appearance of such a bird in the air with any symptoms of delight.

The enthusiastic ornithologist might indeed hear of such an event with delight, but even he would sally forth, rifle in hand, to procure it as a specimen for his museum. The golden eagle has, therefore, no friends in cultivated and populous districts; but, keeping far from the homes of men, seeks the solitudes of sea-girt isles and the gloom of forests, where the print of the settler's foot is rarely found.

There are many varieties of the eagle family, but as their habits are generally the same, we shall not detain the reader by a notice of each species, as the above remarks are sufficient for imparting a general notion of all.

Perhaps it may be of some advantage to the reader to give the scientific and common names of some of the eagles which are often found in museums and zoological collections.

The Falconida, or falcon birds, are divided into two families, the one called Aquiliona (eagles), forming the first sub-family; the other being termed Accipitrina (hawks), and constituting the second sub-family.

The first of these divisions is again divided into long-winged and short-winged eagles, the latter having less powers for lofty and long-sustained flight than the former.

The most important of the long-winged varieties are,—

1. Aquila chrysaetos, or the golden eagle, which has been already described. The term chrysaetos is but a translation into Greek of the English name golden eagle, and the reader may therefore think that the use of the Latin word aquila (eagle) in the above name is an instance of thorough tautology. But he must remember that aquila is the common name of the whole sub-family, and may therefore be applied to each variety.

2. Haliæetus leucocephalus, or the white-headed eagle, which has also been described. Here, again, the Greek name is nearly equivalent to the English. Haliaeetus signifies a sea-eagle, and leucocephalus white-headed, so that the whole designation implies a "sea-eagle with a white head." This peculiar whiteness has led some to apply the very erroneous epithet "bald eagle" to this bird, and it is so named in many popular works.

3. Haliæetus vocifer, screaming sea-eagle, called at the Cape of Good Hope the fishing-eagle.

4. Pandion haliæetus. This is also a sea-eagle, as the name haliæetus imports; but its more usual appellation is the osprey, and it is also termed bald buzzard and fishing-hawk. It is rare

in the British islands, but abounds in many parts of Europe, and along the American coast, where it follows the herring shoals.

5. Polyborus Braziliensis, the caracara eagle of Brazil. The term polyborus signifies "a feeder on many things," and it must be admitted that the habits of the bird justify the application of such a name, for no animal, living or dead, comes amiss to it. Frogs, lizards, snakes, worms, even the smallest insects and grasshoppers, with birds and carrion, constitute the usual particulars of its diversified diet. The name caracara resembles the cry uttered by this eagle, which sends its hoarse and angry note for a great distance round.

Among the short-winged eagles are,

Falco cristatus, or the crested falcon, so named from the dark crest of feathers on its head. It has other names, such as the falco destructor, the harpyia destructor, or, in English, the Harpy, by which epithet it is very commonly known. Those who have seen the bird would naturally call it the crested eagle, for the projecting feathers resemble horns, especially when the bird becomes excited. This falcon is often seen in the deep woods of Mexico and South America, where its great strength renders it a terror to most animals. So high a notion had Linnæus formed of its powers, that he describes it as able to break the skull of a man by a blow of its foot.

The rest of the short-winged eagles are too little known to occupy our attention at present, especially as few of them possess any properties calling for particular remark.

We must therefore now proceed to make a few observations on the second sub-family of the Falconida, which includes all the varieties of the hawks.

THE HAWK.

Hawks may be called lesser eagles, so much do their habits resemble those of the larger falcons, with which they are already classed under the family name Falconida. Hawks have one

peculiarity in their history distinguishing them from eagles; the latter have rarely been trained to become the willing servants of man; but the hawk has been the prized companion of kings and nobles; statesmen have stooped to superintend its education, and scholars and emperors have combined to write on its qualities.

The art of training these fierce little eagles to hunt other birds at the bidding of man, appears to have been practised in Eastern countries from very ancient times. Even so early as the fourth century some Roman writers began to treat of the manner of

educating these birds; but the downfall of the Roman empire drove away such sports for a time from Italy. In the British islands it prevailed amongst the Saxons, whose chiefs often made the ancient forests re-echo to the merry sound of the hawkingparty. The Normans patronised hawking with even greater enthusiasm, so that the hawk became the prized companion of nobles, princes, and kings. Thus, when Queen Matilda and her ladies represented Harold on the famed Bayeux tapestry, the hawk is placed beside the Saxon noble. Not the fierce excitements and perils of the Danish wars prevented the wise and energetic Alfred from paying due attention to his hawks; and even Edward the Confessor is said to have written a treatise on Falconry. In subsequent times large estates were held on condition of preserving breeding-places for these birds, and to steal one was made a felony in the time of the martial Edward III. In the famous reign of Elizabeth, a man who took one of these birds from a wood was liable to suffer an imprisonment of seven years' duration. Even the dangers of his French campaigns did not induce Edward III. to forsake for a time his falcons, and Froissart increases the picturesque beauty of his chronicles, by telling us of the thirty falconers who had the charge of the king's hawks.

Of course this ancient sport is now extinct, the customs of modern society being opposed to its preservation or its revival, and to all-powerful custom even the sportsman must bend. In vain did George Earl of Orford, the nephew of Horace Walpole, attempt to introduce hawking to the notice of the English gentry of his time; and equally fruitless were similar efforts by other gentlemen, who sought to make the plains of Yorkshire and Norfolk the modern localities for the falconer's art. Few indeed now study the elaborate treatises on hawk-training, which formerly occupied as much attention as that of the horse or dog in these times.

But in the "olden days," before the name of Manton was known, or the elegantly-wrought fowling-piece used, the hawk afforded the only means of attacking the tenants of the air. The heron was preserved for the sport, and it was in the pursuit of this bird that the powers of a well-trained hawk were most tested, and the excitement of the falconers raised to the highest pitch. The following description of a hawking at the heron will shew that much skill was required on the part of the falcons to bring down such powerful game.-"The daily visitations of the heron to its feeding-places are watched by the falconers, who station themselves to the leeward, or down wind of the heronry, so that the heron, on its return, must fly against the breeze, which gives a great advantage to its enemy. As soon as one is discovered on the return, a cast of falcons is let loose, which, catching sight of the quarry, rise in pursuit. The heron, instinctively aware that its life is at stake, prepares for the fray by disgorging the contents

of its stomach to lighten the weight of the body. The coursing falcons ascend the airy vault in spiral gyrations, by which the atmospheric resistance to their flight is lessened. These circlings, it has been observed, have frequently the curious effect of presenting the three birds as flying in different directions, whereas the real intentions of the two hawks are steadily directed to one point, which is that of contact with the heron, whose entire efforts are as steadily engaged in avoiding it. To effect this, the affrighted heron strenuously endeavours to rise above the hawks, who, however, by the superior power of wing, commonly succeed in getting the upper station, from which one presently makes its stoop; and happy it is for the poor heron if he can evade the blow, which he occasionally does, either by shifting his station, or by receiving the falcon on his sharp bill, which instantly transfixes it. This danger is, however, denied on authority; but we feel assured that it does occur. The second hawk, if the first fails, stoops in his turn; but the meditated blow of this also is frequently evaded like the former. The trio then still rising higher and higher, the sight becomes interesting in the extreme, and the spectators are scarcely less agitated than the feathered warriors above. At length another stoop takes place, and the fatal seizure is made by one hawk, while the other bends to his fellow, and all three quickly descend together; but not with a dangerous rapidity, as their powers of inflation and the action of their wings break the fall. It is now that the mounted horsemen make the best of their way to the assistance of the falcons."

Other game was, of course, used, such as pheasants, partridges, and the various species of water-fowl.

It may be necessary to reinind the reader that the male hawks were never trained for this sport; for amongst all birds of prey the female is the larger, presenting, in this respect, a remarkable contrast to other portions of the animal kingdom.

Some notices of the more important species of hawks will now form a proper supplement to the above remarks.

The Peregrine falcon is one of the most noted varieties, and derives its name from the supposed wandering habits of the bird, peregrinus being the Latin for a wanderer. The female is usually meant when the terms peregrine falcon are employed; for the male is properly called a tercel, or tiercel, from being a third smaller. The young are also distinguished by the name haggard, perhaps from their fierce appearance. These bold birds are rare in England, though a few are still found on wild parts of the coast, especially on the lonely cliffs which girdle North Wales, and also along the rocky ranges of Cornwall and Devon. Some were also to be found near the Isle of Wight, where they might be seen braving the storm, and darting with long swoop upon some unfortunate sea-bird. The peregrine is more numerous in Scotland,