[Three Hundred Animals Contents]
WHICH seems to be the same with the English Bald Buzzard, is about three feet long from the point of the beak to the end of the talons, and nine spans broad from tip to tip of the wings. The bill resembles that of the golden eagle, and from the chin down hang small hairy feathers, imitating a beard, whence he is called by some the bearded Eagle. The feathers of the whole body are party-coloured, being whitish, duskish, and rusty; his legs are almost wholly covered with dusky feathers, somewhat inclining to yellow. The whole of the body is covered, also, near the skin, with a kind of down, white and soft, like that of the swan. This bird builds his nest on some romantic cliffs by the sea-shores, and feeds entirely upon fish.
The Black Eagle is about twice as big as a raven. The parts about the beak and the eye are bare of feathers, and somewhat reddish; the head, neck, and breast, black; in the middle of the back, between the shoulders, he has a large white spot dashed with red; a black streak sweeps along the feathers, and is followed by a white one; the remaining part of the wing, to the tip, is of a dark ash colour. This bird has beautiful hazel eyes, full of animation; his legs are feathered down a little below the knees, the naked part being red; his talons are very long. He is found in France, Germany, Poland, and delights in Alpine mountains, where he makes the vales and woods resound with his incessant screamings when in search of prey.
