ERNE,
SEA EAGLE. WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. CINEREOUS EAGLE.
ERYR TINWYN, ERYR CYNFFONWIN, ERYR MAWR Y MOR, AND MOB ERYR, IN ANCIENT
BRITISH.
Haliaetus albicilla, SELBY. Falco albicillz, MONTAGU. GMELTN. LATHAM.
TEMMINCK. Aquila albicilla, JENYNS. BRISSON. FLEMING.
(H)als—The sea. Aietos—An eagle. Alba—White. Cilia—A
tail.
IF beyond perhaps a kind of daring courage, and even this, most probably
the mere result of hunger, the Golden Eagle cannot be shown to have
any valid claim to the title usually conferred upon it, so neither can
the present species, or in fact any other of the tribe to which it belongs,
assert any nobility beyond that of appearance and personal strength.
The Erne, or Sea Eagle, seems to be a compound of the characteristics
of the Vultures, the Eagles, the Hawks, the predatory Gulls, and the
Raven. It is a bird of imposing aspect, though less striking and handsome
than the Golden Eagle, and not so compact: when excited, it throws its
head backwards, sets up the pointed feathers of its head and neck, and
assumes many elegant and graceful attitudes. Its proper habitat is near
the sea shore, or fresh-water lakes surrounded by precipitous mountains:
it is not however confined exclusively to coast localities, for it sometimes
has been met with inland—in one instance as much as forty miles
from the sea, and it occasionally also resorts to the sides of streams,
in quest of salmon, trout, and other fish.
The present species is of very frequent occurrence in many parts of
the old world, and is in this country far more numerous than the Golden
Eagle. It is the most abundant in the northern parts of Ireland and
Scotland, and in the Orkney and Shetland Islands, but has also been
repeatedly met with in England. In Scotland, chiefly north of Aberdeen
and the Ord of Caithness, and but rarely south of St. Abb's Head. It
occurs in the Braemar district in Aberdeenshire, and has also been noticed
on an island in Loch Skene, among the high hills on the confines of
the counties of Dumfries, Peebles, and Selkirk, and in a few places
in Galloway; likewise at Loch Awe, near Edinburgh, and the Grampian
range.
In Yorkshire one was obtained at Heywra Park; another in the West Riding,
shot at Okely, came into the possession of John Walbanke Childers, Esq.,
M.P., of Cantley; also several in the North and East Ridings,—one
near Stockton-on-Tees, on the 5th. of November, 1833, by L. Rudd, Esq.,
of Marston in Cleveland; one at Speeton Cliff, in October, 1863, where
another had been killed two years before; one also in Bedale Wood near
Scarborough, in 1868. In Dorsetshire one was taken at Longbredy, between
Dorchester and Bridport, and another at Morden Decoy. In Somersetshire
one near High Ham, in 1849; one was killed on the Mendip Hills in 1802;
others also. In Kent one near Deal and one near Feversham about the
year 1837, as I am in¬formed by Mr. Chaffey, of Dodington, near
Sittingbourne, to whom I am indebted for various other records of rare
birds in Kent; another near Chilham, January 11th., 1869. It has been
occasionally seen on Romney Marsh. In Berkshire one near Shottesbrook
in 1794, and one at Wantage Downs in January, 1793. In Oxfordshire one
at Henley-on-Thames; and in Buckinghamshire one at Checquers Court in
1846. In Norfolk one was seen in May, 1848, near Yarmouth: another was
killed by Sir Robert Lyttleton's gamekeeper in Shropshire, in 1792,
and another seen near there at the same time. It continued longer in
the neighbourhood, and used to roost on the highest trees of a wood.
One had been seen in Epping Forest, Essex, a few weeks before; one at
Russell Farm, Watford, in 1862. In the New Forest, in Hampshire, it
has been very often noticed. In Northumberland three specimens were
procured at Chillingham Park, Lord Tankerville's seat, in two successive
years, two in the former, and one in the following.
An Eagle, doubtless of this species, was shot in 1795 in Sussex, as
re-corded by Markwick in his catalogue, says Mr. Knox; one also in Compton
Wood, Firle Place near Lewes the seat of Lord Gage, the beginning of
November, 1868. One was taken alive in a trap in Suffolk, also another
pair, and another shot in that county in the winter of 1831; one at
Lord Portrnan's seat at "Weybridge on the Thames. One was shot
in 1843 at Elveden, near Thetford, in the act of preying on a rabbit
which it had killed in a warren; one was taken near the Eddystone Lighthouse,
and was kept alive for some time; another was shot in 1834 at Bridestowe,
in Devonshire, and another on Dartmoor in the same county in 1832; also
in 1834. One about the year 1862 at Skewjack in the parish of Seunen,
and another at Oarnekey on the 9th. of November, 1844. Two occurred
on the Northumbrian coast in 1828; one near Scremmerstone, and the other
at Holy Island, both immature birds, supposed to be in their second
or third year, one of them a female. A pair are recorded to have bred
near Keswick, in Cumberland, one shot near there had a trout of twelve
pounds in the nest. They have bred occasionally near there and Ulswater.
One hundred and seventy-one full-grown Eagles were killed in Sutherland
shire in three years.
In the Orkney Islands they have several breeding-places, namely, Whitebreast,
Dwarfie-hammer, and Old Man, in Hoy, and South Ronaldshay, and Costa
Head, in Mainland. In Shetland also in a few of the most inaccessible
places, such as Unst, Rona's Hill, Foula, etc.; also in the outer Hebrides,
Skye, Mull, Rum, and Harris.
In Ireland, the 'Eagle's Crag' near the lakes, and 'Eagle's Nest' near
Killarney, have derived their names from the eyries of either this species
or the Golden Eagle. It also breeds at Fair Head, Horn Head, and Malin,
Slieve Donald, in the county of Down, in Mayo, and among the Mourne
Mountains.
In flight the feet are drawn close up, and the neck doubled back, so
that the head appears as it were to grow from the shoulders. In this
attitude it beats its hunting-grounds, the cliffs, or mountain sides,
the open moors, or the shores of the ocean or lake, sailing with a gentle
and hardly perceptible motion of its wings like the Buzzard, or, if
flying off in a straight line to a distance, with regular flappings
like the Raven. When at rest, in its ordinary position, it sits with
its wings drooped in a slouching manner, as if to dry or air them, like
the Cormorants and Vultures, with the latter of which it was indeed
classed by Linnaeus, and it will be perceived that I have placed it
next to those birds for the like and other reasons. It is not so easy
on the wing as the Golden Eagle, though swift and strong in flight on
occasion, and often extremely graceful. It rises with difficulty from
a level surface, along which it flaps for some distance before it can
do so, and may thus sometimes be brought within gun-shot, by running
or riding down quickly upon it. It is described as being therefore for
this reason seldom met with in such a situation at rest, but as then
preferring some projection, or pointed surface, from which it can the
more easily launch into the air: when it has done so, and has got upon
the wing, it wheels away in large circles.
Fish afford its proper and most congenial food, and these it occasionally
plunges upon, after the manner of the Osprey, a little below the surface,
and sometimes, an humble imitator of the predaceous White-headed Eagle,
is said to rob the original captor, the Osprey, of its prey, by forcing
it to drop it in the air, and then seizing it before it has time to
fall into its native element. Two have been seen to attack a doe at
once, each pouncing on it and striking at its head with their wings
in turn. One Sea Eagle, kept in confinement, is recorded by Montagu
to have devoured its fellow captive. Two taken from the nest lived in
harmony for three years, when, perhaps from some neglect in feeding
them, one killed and ate the other.
It also preys on various aquatic birds, such as gulls, puffins, and
guillemots; occasionally on fawns, young roebucks, and even, though
very rarely, on weakly full-grown deer, as well as on sheep and other
smaller animals, lambs, dogs and cats, as also on straggling domestic
poultry, and in default of these, will readily feed on carrion of any
kind. Herein also, it seems to shew a strong affinity to the Vultures,
for on meeting with such, it remains on the spot for hours and sometimes
for days together, and quits it only when it no longer affords the means
of satisfying the cravings of its appetite. A whole puffin was once
found in the stomach of one of these birds. They have also been seen
to attack and feed on seals. This species has the power of abstaining
for a very long time from food. One has been known to have lived for
four or five weeks in 'total abstinence.''
Its note, which is a double one-a harsh and loud scream, uttered many
times in succession—and which may be heard at the distance of
a mile or more, is shriller aud sharper than that of the Golden Eagle,
and is rendered by the words-kooluk, klook, or klick, queek.
The following curious exploit of one of these birds is related by Mr.
Meyer:—'A. circumstance illustrative of the great muscular strength
which these birds possess, I had the pleasure of witnessing in one confined
in the Zoological Gardens in the Regent's Park, in the severe winter
of 1835. I was employed in completing a sketch of the bird in question,
when I observed him make many endeavours with his beak to break the
ice that had frozen upon the tub of water placed in his cage. Finding
all his efforts to get at the water in this manner were ineffectual,
he deliberately mounted the uppermost perch in his cage, then suddenly
collecting his strength he rushed down with irresistible force, and
striking the ice with his powerful claws dashed it to atoms, throwing
the water around him in all directions. After performing this feat of
strength and sagacity, he quietly allayed his thirst and returned to
his perch. This is no doubt the mode employed by this species in a wild
state, to obtain its aquatic food, from the frozen rivers and inland
seas it frequents in various parts of the Continent.'
From the vast altitude at which the Erne often flies, it would seem,
in common with those of its class, to be able to live in a much more
rarefied atmosphere than many other birds. Occasionally a pair of these
Eagles are seen fighting in the air, and their evolutions are described
as being then most beautiful, as indeed they may easily be imagined
to be. The 'point d'appui' is, in common parlance, to get the upper
hand, so as, secure from assault, to be able to attack from a vantage
ground, thus to call it though in the air, and when one of the two has
succeeded in this endeavour, and is launching itself at its adversary,
the latter suddenly turns on its back, and is in a moment prepared,
with upraised feet and outspread talons to receive its foe; a 'cheval
de frise' not the most desirable to impinge upon. Two were observed
thus fighting in the air over Loch Lomond; both fell together into the
lake. The uppermost one managed to escape, but the other was captured
by a Highlander who witnessed the contest, and waited till the wind
wafted it to the shore.
In the Hebrides, the great damage done by, and therefore feared from
Eagles of this species, makes the people interested in their destruction.
Various ingenious and yet simple modes of trapping and destroying them
have been devised, some requiring great perseverance but all at times
successful in the end. Sometimes the farmer builds a temporary hut,
in which he lies hid within sight of the carcase of some animal, which
he has placed at once both within shot and within view, and after a
greater or less exercise of patience, is rewarded by the approach of
the Eagle, attracted to its quarry, either by its own immediate perceptions,
or from its following other birds drawn to it by the exercise of theirs.
The ravens, crows, and sea-gulls have preceded him to the repast, but
his arrival, Harpy like, at once disperses them; the tables are turned,
and they are compelled at first to withdraw to a respectful distance
while he regales himself. But when he himself has become a carrion,
laid low by the deadly aim of the ambuscade, it falls again to their
lot to finish at leisure the feast which so lately he had disturbed;
perhaps even to make a second course of his own defunct body. Mr. Macgillivray
says that he has known no fewer than five of these birds destroyed in
this manner by a single shepherd in the course of one winter, and he
also says that in the Hebrides, where a small premium, a hen, I believe,
from each house, or each farmhouse in the parish, is given for every
Eagle killed, as many as twenty fall victims every year. Sir Robert
Sibbald has recorded that in Orkney a child of a year old was carried
off by one of these Eagles to its eyrie four miles distant, but it was
providentially rescued from the very jaws of death.
The same motive which prompts to the destruction of the parent birds,
leads also to various 'hair-breadth 'scapes' in attempts to destroy
their young. By means of ropes, the attacking party is lowered over
the edge of some awful-looking precipice, some 'imminent deadly' crag-for
it is only in the most secure retreats that the Erne builds, conscious
as it would seem, of the odium under which he lives, and the proclamation
of outlawry which had been made against him in consequence-and having
taken dry heather and a match with him, sets fire to the nest, and both
it and its tenants are consumed before the gaze of the bereaved parents.
Sometimes the eyrie can be approached and destroyed without the aid
of ropes by the experienced and adventurous climbers, who, habituated
to the perils of those stupendous cliffs, make little of descents and
ascents which would infallibly turn dizzy the heads of those who have
only been accustomed to 'terra firma.' Macgillivray writes, 'On observing
a person walking near their nest, they fly round him at a respectful
distance, sailing with out-stretched wings, occasionally uttering a
savage scream of anger, and allowing their legs to dangle, with outspread
talons, as if to intimidate him.'
This bird is the perpetual object of the buffets of the raven and the
skua-gull, of whom he seems to be in the greatest dread. It is indeed
related that the latter does not exercise this hostility in the Hebrides,
but that it does in the Shetland Islands; but I cannot understand how
one individual bird, and still less how a colony of birds can be gifted
with an instinct not possessed by another colony of its own species
in the same region.
In prowling for food near the ocean, the Erne generally flies along
the side of the cliff, at an elevation of a few hundred feet, but its
powers of sight, or of smell, enable it to discover a dead quarry from
a vastly greater height, and from thence it will stoop like a thunder-bolt
upon it.True it is. that its sense of smell does not enable it to detect
the presence of a man concealed from its sight at the distance of only
a few yards, but this can be no argument whatever against its having
a keen perception of that which forms naturally a large proportion of
its food, and especially when it is so strongly calculated to act powerfully
on the organs of scent.
The Erne is never a gregarious bird; its habits perhaps forbid the exercise
of the sociable qualities. Five is the largest number that has been
seen in company, even when assembled to prey on a common carrion, and
at other times, if as many as three are observed together, it is probably
just before the breeding season, or at, and subsequent to that time;
it is not until some weeks after the young birds have forsaken the nest,
that both the parents leave it altogether.
An Erne has been known to be attacked by a hawk, supposed to be, probably,
a Goshawk, and struck down into the sea, both birds falling together.
One has been seen in the Island of Hoy, sailing off with a pig in its
talons, which on enquiry at the farm from whence it had been stolen,
was found by the Olergyinan of the place, who witnessed the fact, to
have been four weeks old. Another, which had a hen in its talons, forgetting
the proverb that 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,' dropped
it, to make a swoop at a litter of pigs, but the sow with maternal courage,
repelled the aggressor, who consequently lost his previous prey, which
escaped safely, decidedly a narrow escape, into the farmhouse. Another
is recorded to have entered a turf pig-stye, in which a pig had died,
and being unable to escape through the hole at the top, by which it
had descended, in the way of the hungry mouse in the fable, was caught
in this novel and unintentional kind of trap; and slain in due course.
Others are decoyed in Sutherlandshire, and doubtless in the same manner
elsewhere, into a square kind of stone box with an opening at one end,
in which has been fixed a noose: the Eagle, after flying in and eating
of the bait placed within it, walks lazily out of the opening', and
is caught by the loop.
On one occasion, a large salmon was found dead on the shore of Moffat
water, and an immense Erne lifeless also beside it, having met its fate
by being hooked by its own claws to a fish too large and powerful for
it to carry off-an unwilling example of 'the ruling passion strong in
death,' and an unwonted passage in the life and death of a fish, in
whose case the usual order of things in the matter of hooking was reversed.
The following somewhat similar story is related by Bishop Stanley, 'A
halibut, a large flat-fish, resembling a turbot, reposing on or near
the surface of the water, was perceived by an Erne, which immediately
pounced down and struck his talons into the fish with all his force.
Should the halibut be too strong, the Eagle it is said, is sometimes,
but rarely, drowned in the struggle. In this case, however, as more
frequently happens, he overcame the fish, on which he remained as if
floating on a raft, and then spreading out his wide wings, he made use
of them as sails, and was driven by the wind towards the shore/ In Nottinghamshire,
'as a gentleman's groom was early one morning exercising his master's
horses, a terrier dog which accompanied him put up from a bush a fine
Eagle, measuring from tip to tip of his wings nearly eight feet. It
flew slowly over the hedge into a neighbouring field, pursued by the
dog, who came up with and attacked it before it could fairly rise; a
sharp contest took place, during which the dog was severely bitten,
but gallantly persevered in maintaining his hold; when at length, with
the assistance of the groom, and a person accidentally passing by, the
bird was finally secured.
The Erne, like the Golden Eagle, is said to have not unfrequently supplied
the wants of different families in the Hebrides, by the food it had
brought to its nest in abundance, for its young. It does not, as that
bird, attack those who molest its nestlings, but there are two curious
accounts on record of its assailing, in an unprovoked manner, persons
whom it had surprised in hazardous situations on the edges of some dangerous
cliffs. Mr. Leadbeater had one of these birds which became quite tame,
and even affectionate to those about it. One kept by Mr. Selby laid
an egg after having been in confinement twenty years. Another, which
Mr. Hoy had, laid three eggs in one year: and Mr. Yarrell mentions one
which seemed to be pleased with those who attended to it.
It is said that the Erne is more plentiful in Britain in the winter
than at any other season, which, if so, would make it appear that it
partially migrated. It builds in March, and sits very close, but is
by no means so courageous as the Golden Eagle in defending its brood;
one instance to the contrary is indeed on record, but the ' exception
proves the rule.'' Montagu relates of one pair that they violently attacked
a man who was robbing their nest. They will not in their wild state
attempt to cope with a fox or a dog that shows resistance. An Erne and
a fox have been seen banquetting together on a dead goat, but the latter
repelled the former from its portion.
The nest, which is about five feet wide, and very flat, having only
a slight hollow in the middle, is a mass of sticks, heather, or sea¬weed,
as the case may be, arranged in a slovenly manner, and lined with any
soft material, such as grass, wool, or feathers. It is placed on some
precipice, or in the hollow of a crag, or rock, overhanging the sea,
or else on some inland fastness, perhaps an island in a lake, or sometimes
on a rock at the thunder-riven edge of one, and has been known in one
instance placed on the flat ground. The male bird is said to take his
turn at incubation with the female. The Erne is less strongly attached
to its haunts than the Golden Eagle, but it seems in some degree fond
of them, and not unfrequently returns to the same breeding-place for
several years in succession.
The eggs, which, by a merciful provision, are few in number, as are
those of the other Eagles, one, or at the most, two, though some say
three, and that the third is always an addled one-three are stated to
have been taken out of a nest of four, found near West Nab, but doubtless
they must have been laid by two different birds -are white, yellowish
white, or yellowish brown: some are wholly covered with light red spots,
while others have only the large end dotted over. One variety is dull
yellowish white, much dotted and blotted over at and about the smaller
end with pale ferruginous brown, and a few irregular faint spots or
specks of the same scattered over the remainder. A second is clear bluish
white, with a few fine large and distinct blots run together at the
thickest end, and a few other smaller ones here and there. A third is
dull pale yellowish, with several blots of a slightly darker shade.
A fourth is dull white, faintly tinged and slightly blotted with shades
of pale yellowish.
The young are hatched about the beginning of June, and fully fledged
about the middle of August.
It is also to be remarked that the difference in size between the male
and the female, is not nearly so great as is usual in the case of the
other Eagles, and so conspicuously so in the species next described,
and "that they are also very similar in general appearance. The
following is the description of the adult male bird:-Weight, about eight
or nine pounds; length, about three feet; bill, dark straw-colour (at
two years old, increasing in intensity of colour, as the bird grows
older,) and with a bluish skin, slightly bristled over, extending from
its base to the eyes; cere, yellow; iris, bright yellow, and remarkably
beautiful and expressive. The feathers underneath the lower bill are
bristly; crown of the head and neck, pale greyish or reddish brown,
made up of a mixture of yellowish white and brown, the shaft of each
feather darker than the rest, the feathers being hackles; breast and
back, dark brown, with a few lighter coloured feathers intermixed, the
former the darkest. The wings, when closed, reach to the end of the
tail, the fourth and fifth quill feathers being the longest, the second
and third equal, and nearly as long: their expanse is about six feet
and a half. Primaries, blackish brown, nearly black, the bases of the
feathers and the greater part of the secondaries brown, partly tinged
with ash grey. The tail, which is rather short and slightly rounded,
and consists of twelve broad feathers, has a small portion of its base
deep brown, and the rest white, that is, when fully adult, which some
say is after the third moult, and others not until the bird is five
years old; upper tail coverts, white; the last part of the plumage,
apparently, that attains the mature colour. The legs, which are feathered
a little below the knee, are yellow straw-coloured, reticulated behind,
and have a series of scales in front. The middle toe has eight large
scales, the outer one five, and the inner and hinder ones four each.
Another description assigns to the first and second toes three; to the
third twelve; and to the fourth six. Another describes the middle toe
as having sixteen, and the side and hind toes six each; and, again,
another gives thirteen to the middle one; so that it seems to me pretty
certain, that no dis-tinctive character is to be derived from their
number: age may very possibly have something to do with it. The claws
are black, strong and much hooked, the middle one being grooved on the
under side. The female is nearly three feet and a quarter in length,
but some vary very greatly in size. Her wings extend from seven feet
to seven and a quarter or over. Macgillivray mentions one belonging
to a Mr. Monroe, which he stated to measure nine feet from tip to tip.
The young birds, when first hatched, are covered with down of a whitish
appearance: Montagu describes some he had as dark brown. When fully
fledged the bill is deep brown tinged with blue, paler towards the base;
the cere, greenish yellow; iris, dark brown; head, deep brown; chin,
dingy white, nape, white, the feathers tipped with brown, giving these
parts a spotted appearance, the extreme tips being paler than the rest;
breast, dull white spotted with brown; back, light brown; primaries,
blackish brown; lower tail coverts, dull white, tipped with deep brown;
tail, greyish at the upper end, and the rest deep brown, with an irregular
brownish white patch along the inner webs; legs and toes, yellow; claws,
blackish brown.
When further advanced in plumage, the bill is bluish black, the tip
of the upper mandible brownish and the greater part of the lower paler,
and the sides yellowish towards the base; cere, greenish yellow; iris,
chesnut brown; head, crown, and neck, still darker brown, the roots
of the feathers white, and the tips paler than the rest. The breast
is variegated with different shades of reddish brown, a few white feathers
being interspersed; on the lower part pale brown, spotted with darker
brown; the back on the upper part patched with brown of a darker and
lighter shade, and some of the feathers on the shoulders glossed with
purple, the feathers paler toward the base, and having the whole of
their shafts dark; on the lower part white, the feathers tipped with
brown. The tail is brown of different shades, darkest towards the end,
and the base, and on the outer webs, except near the tips, which are
white, as also the inner webs; under tail coverts, white tipped with
deep brown; the legs and toes, yellow; and the claws, bluish black tinged
with brown. Yarrell mentions a variety kept in the Garden of the Royal
Zoological Society, which had the whole plumage of a uniform pale bluish
grey colour.
The Erne varies much both in size and in colour, which latter becomes
more cinereous as the bird advances in age, and this was the cause of
the one species in the different stages of its plumage having been imagined
to be two distinct ones. One has been killed in Sutherlandshire entirely
of a silvery white hue, without any admixture of brown, and another
of the like appearance was seen at the same time in company with it.
A very curious variety in the Zoological Society's collection is thus
described by Meyer, in his 'Illustrations of British Birds,' 'No painting
can fitly represent the delicate and beautiful colour of this bird.
When its feathers are ruffled, as may be frequently observed, at the
pleasure of the creature, a delicate azure blue tint is seen to pervade
the basal part of the feathers, which, appearing through the whole transparent
texture, imparts to its plumage the singular tint it displays. It is
observable that the beak of this individual is rather less in depth
at the base than is usual in this species, and the iris yellowish white.'
"Upon her eyrie nods the Erne."—
The Lady of the Lake.
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