HALLETUS ALBICILLA.
“ In' the breeding season, should two males encounter each other, they sometimes fight in the air, throwing themselves into singular
postores and screaming loudly. The cry of this species is so shrill that in calm weather one may hear it at the distance o f a mile>
and it often emits a kind of clear yelp, which resembles the syllable Mick, Mick, Mick, or qtieek, . queck, queek, and which seems to be the
expression of anger or impatience.”—MacgilBrit. Birds, voL 111.
The Sea-Eagle is frequently chased' by smaller birds, and rarely makes its appearance upon the sea without being molested by the
Gulls which “ mob it all the time.” On such occasions it never offers to return the assaults, but endeavors to get away from its
persecutora as quickly as possible. Mr. Dunn states that he “ once saw, while sporting on Rona’s Hill, a pair o f Skua Gulls chase
and completely beat off a large Eagle; the Gulls struck at Mm several times, and at each stroke he screamed loudly, but never offered to
return the assault; He was sailing along close to the steep part of the cliffs, and near the breeding place of these Gulls, and was
most probably looking out for a repast, which he doubtless would have secured had he not received the hint that his company could be
dispensed with. I have also seen from ten to fifteen Arctic Gulls attack an Eagle and beat him from their habitations.”
But he does not always receive such a reception when he sweeps majestically along the cliffs upon which the smaller Gulls and
other sea-birds are breeding, and when perhaps there may be no formidable Skuas to teach him propriety, his appcaranco creating
great consternation—the old birds in terror for themselves and for their defenceless young. The following note, furnished by H. Osborne,
Jr., Esq., to Mr. Gould, and published by him in the Birds of Great Britain, well describes the effect produced by the advent o f this
Eagle:
“ An observer who carefully watched this depredator while beating the margin of a loch, not far from the edge o f the rock, saw
him slip over the precipice and shoot along about half way between the top of the cliff and the sea. Hardly had he made his
appearance when a rush of birds seaward took place. Everything that could fly left the rocks, and the terror and confusion that ensued
was remarkable. This continued during the whole course of his flight, and his appearance was the signal for a hurrying of the scared
masses out of the reach of danger. So numerous and so very much frightened were the birds, that the progress o f the Eagle could
be traced, long after he himself was invisible, by the string of sea-fowl o f various kinds that persistently continued to seek safety
in flight. It was long before Gull and Guillemot got over their fright and matters assumed the even tenor of their way.”
The Gray Sea-Eagle may be described as follows: Head and neck light brown, each feather with a dark central line o f the same
color: entire upper parts dark brown, each feather having a wide edging of light brown: AVings dark brown, the tertiaries tipped with
very light brown; primaries very dark brown. Under parts lighter than the upper. Tail and coverts white. Bill, legs, and feet pale
yellow; cere golden yellow; claws black.
My figure, taken from a specimen obtained in Greenland, is a little more than one-third of the natural size.